
M»W*tt)lWm 



Land of the Mongol 

Reminiscences of an 
Asiatic Cruise 



ILLUSTRATED 



By 
WILLIAM H. WOODHOUSE 



OBSERVATIONS -:- AND -:- DEDUCTIONS 



0^ 



Copyright, 1912, by the Author. 



(!e)C!.A328552 



f tbe Hemott) of Ht) ilolber 

Whose Life and Admonitions Have 

Ever Been an Inspiration and a Guide 

These Lines Are Respectfully 



CONTENTS 



Riding the Sea p. 1 

Honolulu, the City Beautiful, . 3 

Mikado-Land, 6 

A Jaunt in Tokyo, .... 10 

In the Shades of Fuji, .... 15 

The Inland Sea, ..... 18 

Nagasaki, ....... 21 

Manners and Customs in Japan, . . 23 

The Plains of the Yangste, ... 25 

Through the Mists, ..... 30 

In the Land of the Haikais ... 33 

The Ways of the Chinese, .... 40 

Before the Gates, 44 

Manila, 49 

Facts and Fancies, . ... 55 

Unrelenting Fate, 60 

Problems in Government, ... 63 

Alien Contact, 67 

The Gospel Invasion of the Far East, . 70 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



\/ 



Frontispiece. 

Street Scene, Yokohama, Japan p. 8a '^ 

Her Brother's Keeper .... p. 16a '^ 

Buddhist Temple, Nagasaki, Japan p. 22a "^ 

Street Scene, Shanghai, China . . p. 26a ^ 



FOREWORD 



As previously announced, the writer's decision to publish in this form, 
a sketch of his experiences in Asia, as well as impressions gathered en-tour, 
has been brought about by repeated requests on the part of his friends for 
something along this line, and he trusts that they may not be disappointed 
in his presentation of the same. 

It will be practically impossible to include in this narrative a reference 
to every experience encountered or, for that matter, any considerable num- 
ber of them. Out of a mass of varied and unclassified reminiscences it will 
be necessary to select the material for this sketch and in doing so the writer 
will endeavor to choose such as will be most likely to interest those for 
whom the story is written. 

In the presentation he hopes to keep out of the beaten path, and to 
avoid discussion of the more generally known characteristics of Oriental 
countries and peoples so often touched upon in magazines and kindred pub- 
lications. A visit to the Far East brings the tourist in touch with a new 
world, indeed, and cannot fail to provide sufficient material from which to 
construct a sketch along original lines. With this thought in mind the writer 
will aim to speak more in detail of those things less generally known and 
to dwell more at length upon such characteristics as will portray the life 
and conditions peculiar to those lands. In doing so he may become tiresome 
at times, but hopes to inject enough real substance into the texture of the 
narrative to make the reading really worth while. Whether or not he suc- 
ceeds in doing so will be left to the discretion of the readers. 

April 18, 1912. W. H. W. 



PART I 

A Travel Sketch 



Reminiscences of :^n Asiatic Cruise 



CHAPTER I. 
HIDING THE SEA 

To the inlander who ascends the gangplank of an oceaii liner for the 
first time and, from the eminence of the promenade deck, surveys the vast- 
ness of the briny deep in contemplation of a 10,000 mile voyage, there comes 
a feeling of strangeness and of awe that is indescribable. Perhaps the 
waters have never seemed half so wide, nearly so deep, nor quite so melan- 
choly as at this psychological moment; and much of the romance that might 
otherwise attach itself to the occasion is lost in confused meditation.. 

It was so on this particular day in December, 1908, as the writer made 
his way down the. crowded pier, (42), in San Francisco, to which the S. S. 
Korea lay moored, and ascended to passenger ciuarters on the main deck. 

The day was dark and damp and cold, — intensely cold and uncomfortable 
for one unacclimated to the denser, penetrating air of the sea. Far out toward 
the Golden Gate an impenetrable gray mist hung heavily upon the bay, 
shutting out much that might have been beautiful in a widely diversified 
landscape. 

But nothwithstanding the inclemencies everything was astir about the big 
ship. 

It was now nearing the noon hour and the ship was due to sail at 1. A 
steady stream of humanity surged up and down the gangway, flooding the 
decks above and the wharf below. Over in steerage quarters a typical 
Oriental scene was being enacted. Several hundred Orientals — Chinese, 
Japanese and Koreans, — had engaged passage for the homeland, and all of 
Chinatown and other Asiatic quarters, it seemed, had come out to see them 
off. In costumes, in jargon and in dialect, the setting was true to life and 
even the experienced traveler could easily have imagined himself in the 
ports of Nagasaki or Shanghai. 

The ship's officers, clad in blue uniforms, military in style and bearing, 
were to be seen in their respective stations, directing the various duties de- 
veloping upon them, — their Chinese assistants close at hand. Not the least 
interesting of these were the more dignified servants, clad in long blue 
gowns, a fez cap upon the head and the usual Chinese slippers upon the 
feet. A very long cue, often inter-braided with black silk to add length, was 
also indispensable and was worn by all. During embarking hours it becomes 
the duty of these servants to assign passengers to their respective staterooms 
and perform various other tasks as they may arise, and they do the work in- 
telligently and with dispatch. The "tip," however, is always welcome and. 



2. LAND OF THE MOXGOl-En-tour 



indeed, a satisfactory service can hardly be obtained unless the "coin" is 
forthcoming. 

Presently the work was done. Above the babble of voices, the creaking 
of winches and the shuffle of hurrying feet the gong was heard to sound— 
the first call of warning to those aboard that the hour of sailing was near 
at hand. A second time the gong; and a third and the voice of the Quarter- 
master proclaiming that all who did not sail must abandon the Ship at once. 
The gangplank is drawn in; the sonorous whistle of the boat calls out in deep, 
hoarse tones, the massive machinery in the bowels of the ship is felt to 
tremble and we are off. As the vessel wheels slowly about there is the 
usual exchange of good will with those on shore, the waving of handker- 
chiefs and parting cheers. 

As we passed through the Golden Gate, out into the free waters of the 
Pacific, the sea became heavy, and the motion of the ship, which had hereto- 
fore been almost imperceptible, very pronounced. In fact a "squall" was 
on and remained with us for five days or within a few hours of Honolulu. 
The sensation was not pleasant, and the tendency of the mind was to recall 
all the disagreeabe tales of sea-sickness that had ever come to it. 

During the night the storm did not abate and the dawning of morning 
revealed an angry sea beating itself into wreaths of foam. Huge waves, 
white capped and numerous, broke against port and stern with angry per- 
sistence. So violent was the onslaught from this source that a constant spray 
was hurled to the promenade deck some thirty feet above water line in such 
quantity as to prevent recreation in any but sheltered portions. Great swells 
came to meet us, raising our ship bodily to their very crest and hurling us 
forward into the trough beyond. But the good ship served us well, and, in 
comparison with lighter crafts with which the writer had some experience 
at a later date on the China Sea, rocked us very lightly, indeed. But to say 
the least the experience was not pleasant, and at times the most rigorous 
kind of deck walking was required to ward off actual seasickness. Some of 
the passengers were sick during the entire voyage to Honolulu and the long 
row of bleached, listless faces peering from heavy robes in the steamer chairs 
on the sheltered deck, gave evidence to the fact that there were "others." 

The five days at sea from San Francisco to Honolulu has the effect of 
seasoning the "landsman' for the long journey from the latter point to 
Japan, eleven eventful days, with naught but the canopy of heaven above, 
turbulent waters beneath and a restless moving horizon, unchanging as the 
days go by. But life on an ocean liner is not as melancholy as the environ- 
ments would seem to indicate. Friendships are hurriedly formed and many 
diversions offered to relieve the monotony. Aside from the novelty of sea 
riding in itself there is the music room provided in all first-class passenger 
ships and the library annex from which books may be secured. There is 
also a smoking room for gentlemen, which is in reality an elegantly fur- 
nished saloon with the usual card tables and kindred accessories. While 
the ship is in tropic latitudes a swimming pool is provided and various games 
on the upper decks. A frequent visit to steerage quarters is also entertain- 
ing and profitable. But, notwithstanding such diversions as these, one gets 
tired of pacing the deck at frequent intervals, (Napoleon like, St. Helena 
bound), and the first glimpse of land is hailed with delight. 



L:^XD OF THE MOJiGOL- En-tour 3. 



CHAPTER II. 
HONOLULU. THE CITY BEAUTIFUL 

Monday, the 28th of December, will long be remembered by the passen- 
gers of the Korea. Not alone because the morning broke upon us in the full 
splendor of the ideal semi-tropic day, and that after more than five days 
buffeting with an angry sea, but from the additional fact that the islands 
of Hawaii, with the rising of the sun, lifted their heads above the waste of 
waters and were now plainly visible. Five days beyond sight of land is suf- 
ficient for the average uninitiated traveler and from the activity manifested 
aboard ship when the first cry of land was heard, it had been enough for 
the Korea's list. What at first appeared to be a low bank of clouds, and 
what had at one time been declared by some to be clouds, indeed, proved to 
be the island of Molohai, (leper island, as it is perhaps better known,) on 
which is situated the famous leper colony. Wheeling sharply to the right 
our ship comes up before Honolulu, where we are forced to await the arrival 
of the quarantine officers from the city. In the meantime a huge shark 
amuses the passengers by its maneuvers about the ship. After a careful in- 
spection we are given a clean bill of health by the officers, and permitted to 
enter the city. 

As our ship steams into Honolulu harbor, preceded closely by the pilot 
boat, we are met by the diving boys, for which the city is noted among tour- 
ists. These brown bits of humanity, clad in nothing but loin cloths, watch 
eagerly for any coin that may be tossed into the water by amused passengers 
and seldom if ever come up without the coveted piece between their fingers 

One of the most beautiful cities in the world is Honolulu. (If there is 
another so beautiful the writer has never seen it.) Favored by nature with 
a climate supreme in its excellence, with a topography not to be surpassed, 
and above all with a considerable population of wealthy sugar barons whose 
one delight seems to be to make the city the most attractive on the globe 
why should it not hold this distinction? A wealth of tropical vegetation, of 
roses and vines, artictically trained and trimmed; an abundance of splendid 
homes opening upon extensive, well-kept lawns; these, with the great gov- 
ernment buildings and the splendid site which the city possesses, are suf- 
ficient to establish the claim the writer has already made, that it is one of the 
most beautiful in the world. 

During the day the writer visited the capitol building, the ancient capitol 
of the Hawaiian kings the campus of which is liberally studded with flowers 
and stately palms. A visit to the present home of deposed Queen Lillioukan? 
was also made. Immediately following the noon hour he began the ascent 
of the Punch Bowl, the volcano lying back of the city and, after a fatiguing 
climb, reached the crater, from which was to be had a magnificent view of 
city and harbor. 

No tourist would think of paying a visit to this city without going out 
to Waikiki beach and the Aquarium. The former is the scene of the sen- 
sational surf-riding for which Hawaiians are famous, and the latter contans 



4. MXD OF THE MOJ^'GOL- Hawaii 



one of the finest assortments of fish, etc., in the world. The fish collection 
is not so extensive as it is complete in variety of the curious and oddly 
formed. Words will not describe what we saw there and the reader would 
probably not believe it if a description was attempted. Another point of in- 
terest in Honolulu, which the writer visited, is the Bishop Museum, where is 
to be found a remarkable collection of Hawaiian and Polynesian exhibits 
Among other things are a whale and a shark, each so perfectly prseserved 
and suspended by invisible supports as to appear actually alive. 

The population of Honolulu is cosmopolitan in the extreme. Americans 
are there in considerable numbers. The Kanakas, the remnants of the 
Hawaiians, are next in evidence. Japanese are seen everywhere, attired in 
their native costume. In addition to these may be seen the Chinese, the 
Korean, and various European nationalities. 

Reference has already been made to Leper Island (Molokai), where 
the United States maintains a colony of lepers and where systematic re- 
search is being imade to discover a cure for this dreaded disease. In Hono- 
lulu a receiving hospital for lepers has been established, to work in con- 
junction with the colony above referred to. 

There are 650 lepers in the hospital, of whom five-sixths are Hawaiians.. 
and the most of the remainder Portuguese and Chinese. The leper settlement 
is on a tongue of land comprising several square jniles on the island of 
Molokai. The lepers have a colony of their own, and this is a complete com- 
munity of itself. It is much like the leper colony of the Philippine Islands., 
in that it has its own magistrate and police and its social and business life 
It has churches, debating clubs, baseball grounds and a race track. There 
are two bands and a moving picture theater. 

In the colony are four large institutional homes. One is for males, another 
for females, a third for hopeless cases, and a fourth is a nursery for the 
children. There are also about two hundred other buildings, consisting of 
machine shops, storerooons and detached cottages occupied by lepers. Among 
the schools of Honolulu are some for non-leprous children whose parents 
are lepers. 

One day of sojourn at Honolulu, like all pleasant diversions, caime to an 
end. The sun began to sink low in the western sky and with no little regret 
we turned our steps from the avenues of palms and flowers and were soon 
aboard-ship, — bound for Japan. At 5 p. m. the gangplank was displaced, and 
while the Hawaiian band struck up the tune of "Dixie." the big ship backed 
slowly from the pier, was turned about and we were off, while waving hats and 
handkerchiefs fluttered from deck and pier and throats shouted themselves 
hoarse. The diving boys had not forgotten us, and still begged for coin. 
Climbing to the Bridge deck, the highest on the ship, and some fifty feet 
above waterline, they would dive off for a stipulated sum and were gone. 

It had been an eventful day, — a season of refreshing for each of us, — 
and now, as the big steamer cleared the farthest buoy and swung out Into 
the open sea, we could not go without catching a parting glimpse of this city 
of palms nestling at the feet of the Hawaiian hills. Few, indeed, were con 
tent to seek the stateroom, notwithstanding the fatiguing experiences of the 
day, but chose, rather, to lean upon the rail, tracing the fading outlines of 



LsiXD OF THE MOXGOL- En^tour 5. 

city and (mountains as they dimmed to view with the approach of twilight 
shades. 

The splendors of Hawaii had possibly been magnified to us in consequence 
of the unpleasant voyage of the week and the perfect day which greeted us 
at Honolulu, (but be that as it may, the recollections of that spot will linger 
with us forever), and we shall aways look back upon it as an oasis in the 
desert monotony of a new life experience. Our testimony, however, has the 
added weight of being in complete harmony with the experiences of such 
tourists as have visited the Hawaiian group and would probably be in ac 
cord with the mind of the reader should he call there. 




L:^KD OF TEE MOXGOL-Japan 



CHAPTER III. 
"MIKADO-LAND" 

Day was rapidly drawing to a close; the sun had gone down beyond the hor- 
izon of the restless sea, and the gray of twilight was creeping over the face of 
the \^ aters. Far away to the eastward were distinguishable the bluish gray 
outlines of Hawaiian mountains dimly sat against the sky. That was all in 
the realm of the fixed and the firm upon which the eye could rest, — all else 
was sea, unresting sea, as far as the eye could reach. 

Presently we were alone — alone with the night whose shadows enveloped us. 
Out of the darkness the moon appeared in the eastern sky — resplendent in its 
majesty — reflecting its rays upon the undulating swells of the sea in a manner 
calculated to thrill the most inappreciative soul. — A star-wreathed tky above 
us; a responding sea below us; no audible thing ttbout us save the murmur of 
the waters beneath our feet; we leaned upon the rail as one transfixed, drink- 
ing in the unfathomable beautits of a perfect night upon the deep. ****** With 
such pleasant memories as these we drifted on, "terra firma" behind us. eleven 
days at sea before us — and then Japan. 

Of the trip from Honolulu to Yokohama little need be said. The reader will 
readiJy appreciate what a week and a half's confinement upon an ocean liner 
might mean, — far from the busy, hustling world; cut off absolutely from inter- 
course with or knowledge of current events, not so much as a single item of 
news for eleven days, — but the days came and went and with them our first 
introduction to the Far East at first hand. In way of explanation we will say 
that at the time our out-going trip no wireless telegraph service was main- 
tained by any Pacific steamer. On our return, however, the "Minnesota S. S." 
the largest upon the Pacific, upon which we were passengers, was making its 
first trip with wireless. We might add, also, that a serious injury to our ship 
in mid-ocean gave us an opportunity to put the telegraph into practical ser- 
vice. For two days our operator sent out the distress signal, (S. O. S.), with- 
out results. Finally the message was picked up by the station at Ketchikan, 
Alaska and transmitted by them to the Port Townsend station near Seattle. 
From that time we were in constant communication with the land and our 
movements were closely watched by scout boats prepared to lend assistance 
should any have been needed. 

There is one incident of the voyage from Honolulu to Japan that never fails 
to attract interest. About mid-way between the points named the ship cross- 
es the International Date Line, and if passing from east to west a day is lost. 
As we went over we lost Friday, Jan. 1st, (New Years), while on our return 
two Wednesdays of the same date followed each other. It is certainly unus- 
ual to retire on Thursday evening and awake on Saturday morning, but that 
is what we did. and the New Year's ball, which our fellow passengers had 
planned with such pains, was given on the eyening of the 2nd. 

The morning of January 8th brought with it our first glimpse of Japa n 
Much as a cloud might lift its head hazily against the distant sky, the rugged 
outlines of barren mountain peaks could be seen indistinctly set above the 
water line to the north and east of us. 



mKD OF TEE MOJiGOL-Japan 7, 

The day was cold, the fierce, penetrating blast bearing down upon us from 
the north not only adding to the uncomfortableness without but exciting the 
sea to madness, as well. For seven days we had been driving against a heavy 
sea, white-capped and veiled with fog, and the sight of land ahead put new 
life into every breast. Notwithstanding the inclemencies of the day the decks 
were soon literally alive with radiant faces set toward the rocky heights over- 
looking Yeddo Bay. Daring fishermen soon came into view, their tiny crafts 
rolling and pitching. — now riding high upon the crest of some passing swell, 
and again lost to view in the trough beyond. In front of us myriads of tiny 
sails, shifting with the waves, marked the presence of the fishing fleet, that 
vital factor in the feeding of Yokohama's thousands. 

Enthusiasm was at a high pitch in oriental quarters. Many a swarthy face 
was wreathed in smiles and every eye was fixed upon the shores they knew so 
well. Mothers lifted high the youngsters from their backs and, with speak- 
ing eyes, pointed away toward beloved Nippon, (Japan), the favored land of 
all the East. 

About niid-day the Korea steamed up to the Pacific Mail buoy within the 
breakwater in Yokohama harbor and was made fast. The city itself lay more 
than a mile away, while the surface of the intervening waters was freely 
studded with sea crafts of various descriptions and floating practically every 
national flag. Of the most primitive types there were the native sampans, 
small, flat, canoe shaped boats, (usually weather beaten and stained), propell- 
ed by a single fin-like oar projecting directly from the rear and rotating right 
to left against a pivot at the stern. These boatis are typically Oriental and are 
to be seen in large numbers throughout Japan. In a slightly modified form 
they are met with in all the ports of China. There were two, three and four 
masted schooners. — freighters plying their trade in "ye olden" style, depend- 
ent upon the will of the wind, the course of the tides and at the mercy of the 
storm almost as truly as were our progenitors many generations ago. There 
were tugs in tow, modern steam launches and fashionable yachts and passeng- 
er ocean-going steamers of various tonnage and nationalities. 

No dry piers are maintained in oriental ports with the exception of the Ger- 
man and French pier, (hatoba), at Yokahama. American vessels anchor well 
out in the harbor and a regular launch service transports passengers to and 
from shore at frequent intervals. 

Scarcely had the Korea cast anchor, when a modern launch flying the Amer- 
ican flag took its position along the port side and the writer, among others, 
was soon ashore. No sooner had they stepped upon the pier than they be- 
came the center of an excitedly gesticulating group of jirrikisha men, each 
intent upon selling his services and employing every conceivable means to 
make his efforts successful. Solicitation was followed by entreaty and vain 
courtesy. Dozens of hideous, smiling fices laid siege to each visitor, while 
superfluous bows, unintelligible chatter and cunning strategy baffled the tour- 
ist at every turn. As for the writer, he found himself at the foot of the hato- 
ba, (pier), with no knowledge of the city, with no wiser friend with whom to 
take counsel, with no Japanese currency in his possession and with no assur- 
ance that any of the ovcr-anxious natives understood enough English to take 
him where he wished to go. A solid phalanx of jinrikishas, (small, cart-like 
covered vehicles for conveying passengers and pulled by a single Jap), lined 



8. MXD OF THE MOXGOL-Japan 

the street on either side for two blocks toward the city and every one of them 
seemed to be moving toward the little group of bewildered foreigners of which 
he was a part , 

One thing, the writer was determined to do, namely, to make his way to the 
office of a money-changer, if possible, where he could secure Japanese curren- 
cy, feeling that with this asset he could with some degree of assurance trust 
himself to the guidance of the native jinrikisharaen, but this he found to be a 
difficult undertaking. At all stages he was surrounded by the same excited, 
clamoring throng, — babbling, bowing, beseeching, — now stopping his progress 
by drawing a 'rikisha across his path, now backing the vehicle to a convenient 
position and indicating by signs and otherwise the service they wished to per- 
form; now jostling him and expressing their displeasure at his unwillingness 
to accept their services. The experience was a strenuous one and not soon to 
be forgotten. We have landed at many Japanese ports since then but never 
have we experienced such a reception as this one. This was our initiation in- 
to the ways and the customs of Japan and the experience did much, no doubt, 
to temper as for the kaleidescopic situations in which we found ourselves on 
later occasions. To say the least jinrikishamen by virtue of their numbers and 
stubborn persistence, are a wearisome and lamentable necessity, but the ex- 
perienced traveler soon learns to rid himself of their presence when he so desires. 

After much difficulty the writer found himself before a Chinese money-chang- 
er, where, after supplying himself with tne desired Japanese currency, he 
jumped into a jinrikisha through sheer desperation and was soon rolling 
through the streets behind a swarthy Jap. 

Yokohama is a city of 400,000 inhabitants, the most frequented of Japanese 
treaty ports and the actual gateway to the empire. 

There is little in the city thai would indicate modern ideals, either in archi- 
tecture, public or private conveniences or the conduct of its inhabitants. With 
the exception of a few modest brick buildings on the Bund, (waterfront), con- 
structed and occupied by American and European concerns, the buildings of 
Yokohama are small and flat, usually weather worn and dingy, and with the 
usual projecting tile roofs. Benten Dori, the main business street and the 
pride of Yokohamans, contains two or three semi-modern structures, but with 
these exceptions the usual native booths prevail. The little shops are usually 
from about 6x8 to 12x14 feet in size, a removable wall facing the street, and 
the stock they contain is usually unsystematically and grotesquely arranged. 
China and porcelain ware, silk patterns and novelties are those catering chief- 
ly to tourist trade, and in such cities as Yokohama this patronage constitutes 
a large part of the business of the port. 

Horses are seldom seen in Japanese cities, practically all labor being done 
by hand, and the congestion of traffiic. such as it is, is curiously interesting. 
There have been times when the writer has found it almost impossible to make 
his way through the crowded thoroughfares, while the clamor of foreign tong- 
ues, the clatter of wooden-sandaled feet and the mingled noises arising from 
passing 'rikishas and heavy freightinar carts have filled the air with a deafen- 
ing din, equalled in its weirdness only by the strangeness of the picture 'round 
about us. Such congested conditions, however, are common only to certain 
thoroughfares at particular times of day and if the tourist craves the less 




street Scene, Yokohama, Japan 



LslKD OF THE MOmOL-Japan 9. 

strenuous he has only to select less frequented streets, which are always ac- 
cessible. 

After having visited the more metropolitan cities of Yokohama, Tokyo, Ko- 
be and Nagasaka, as well as some of the smaller villages we frankly confess 
that we saw only two horses in the course of both of our visits to Japan; both 
of which would have been subjects for the discard long ago here at home. The 
age and vintage was unknown to us but the general appearance of the animals 
suggested an ancient birthdate and no over-abundunce of alfalfa meal. Both 
horses were being led by the halter, one pulling a heavy two wheel cart by 
the canal in Yokohama and the other a primitive street sprinkler in the city 
of Kobe. The sprinkler consisted of a rougb, hand-mad^ square board box, 
holding about two barrels of water, set between two rickety wheels, while a 
couple short pieces of perforated gas pipe projecting from the rear sprinkled 
the street as best it could, which is saying enough. And this was the official 
sprinkler in Kobe, a city of 165,000 people and known internationally as the 
most modern city in Japan. - 

The streets, aside from being the traffic and business centers, are also the 
children's play ground and youngsters of all ages and stages may be se^n at 
all hours from sunrise to sunset. Ki re flying and stilt walking are the chief 
amusements and in these they actually seem to find enjoyment. Stilts are us- 
ually made of bamboo, assuring both lightness and strength. Many children 
carry their younger brothers or sisters tied to their backs and the writer has 
yet to see an instance where either the babe or its burden bearer showed the 
least displeasure at the arrangemf'nt. We found many opportunities to use 
our kodak to advantage and are reproducing views as occasion offers. 

Aside from the Buddhist temples there is little in Yokohama to attract the 
tourist, acd the temples themselves are far inferior to those at Tokyo, Kama- 
kura, Nagoya, Kyoto and other inland 'owns. The writer visited a Shinto 
temple on the bluff to th^ west of the city and found the vie v of city and har- 
bor much more interesting than anything the temple had to offer, much to the 
displeasure of the priest who, we dare say, thought more of the glittering 
coin he might receive as guide than of the tenets of the religion of which he 
was an apostle. 

Priests, in their long flowing black robes and shaven beads are frequently 
Seen in the down-town streets and on sueh occasions it is not unusual to see 
them stop abruptly before a native shop, uttering a sharp command as they do 
so, whereupon the inmates drop with one accord to their knees, mumbling 
incoherently and gesticulating strangely. Many times the writer has seen a 
native drop to his knees in the duso of the street, before an image of Buddha 
displayed in a shop window, while every passer-by did likewise until the 
street was almost blocaded by the worshiping throng. Such occasions as 
these emphasize the need of foreign missions and the introduction of a tangi- 
ble religion with both hope and grace to satisfy. 



10 L^KB OF THE MOmOL-Japan 



CHAPTER IV 
A JAUNT IN TOKYO 

Our early impressions of Japan, gathered at first hand, had been a distinct 
disappointment, — strikingly in contrast to our previous ideas gathered from 
magazine articles of the usual sort here at home. In vain we strove to har- 
monize the glowing tributes, so beautifully pictured, with the Oriental setting 
spread before us. — so suggestive of the '"old," so oblivious of the "new." To 
speak plainly, we had found little in Yokohama to justify our previous exag- 
gerated ideas of Japanese thrift and progressiveness. There had been little to 
remind us that the "island empire" was assimilating Western ideas and had 
already assumed the proportions of a world power. There had been little, 
very little, in the outward conduct of Yokohamans to indicate that they re- 
garded seriously that occidental civilization which was, even then, transform- 
ing the histories of the nations of antiquity. We had found little, indeed, in 
this congested Japanese treaty port to warrant any degree of enthusiasm as 
regards any remarkable transition from the old to the new, and yet we had 
see a, much to our disappointment, many evidences of the ancient customs and 
life which have clung to Asiatics so tenaciously since the beginning. 

It will not be improper to state here that the average magazine contribu- 
tion dealing with the Japanese problem, so potent in molding public opinion, 
is largely overdrawn and too highly colored. We can make this assertion with- 
out discredit to the "Yankee of the Orient," who has sufficient in which to 
pride hioiself without claiming glory that is not his own. Japan, as pictured 
in the public press, and Japan as it actually is are widely different; but not- 
withstanding this fact, the truth remains that the people "have" made re- 
markable progress and are building an empire that is destined to change the 
political geography of Asia. 

This was particularly impressed upon us by a visit to the up-country and 
Tokyo and by subsequent contact with the people at various points and under 
varyicg circumstances. 

The opportunity to visit Tokyo and the country inland from Yokohama 
came as a decided relief after our sojourn at the latter point, and the event 
proved the most pleasant and instructive of our Japanese experiences. With 
the Shimbasi station, Tokyo, as our objective point, we appeared at the Yoko- 
hama depot early on Tuesday morning, and accordingly purchased tickets over 
the Imperial Railway for the point named. This gave us our first opportuni- 
ty to become acquainted with the Japanese railroads, which are owned and 
operated by the government and conducted after the British fashion. Fares 
are divided into three classes, viz., 1st, 2nd and 3rd, the prices being 3 sen, 
(l3^c), 23^ sen, (13^c) and 2 sen, (Ic), respectively. Separate apartments are 
provided for each class, the 1st class passengers occupying the forward coach, 
followed by the 2nd and 3rd. in the order named. There seems to be little 
difference in the accommodations, and the practical joker who asserted that 
the only difference was in the color of the upholstery was not as much in er- 
ror as our readers might suppose. 



l:^MD OF THE MOJiGOL-Japan 11 

Having secured the necessary tickets, we proceeded to find our train, the 
time of departure being near at hand. About this time we found ourselves 
before a turnstile similar to those in use at the average union station in Amer- 
ica. Here our tickets were punched and we were permitted to pass 
through and on to the train that would make the run to Tokyo. The coaches 
were low, flat, boarded after the mann r of our freight cars and also painted 
red. Inside, there was a noticeable absence of those splendidly upholstered 
seats so familiar here, while a simple board seat, extending the full length of 
the car on either side, with back toward the two or three small, dingy win- 
dows, provided the only comfort for travelers. Over the seats had been spread 
a piece of tapestry brussels carpet, which did not lessen the jar of the coach 
while traveling to any considerable extent. The whole lay-out was primitive, 
and a constant reminder that we were far from home and in a strange land. 
Occasionally the familiar cry of the newsboy could be heard, indistinctly, 
above the babble of noises, but investigation revealed the fact that he spoke 
only Japanese and the papers he hold were Japanese as well. 

Presently the train began to move and we found ourselves emerging into the 
suburban sections of Yokohama. The congested business section had given 
way to sparsely settled plats, many of which contained luxuriant gardens, not- 
withstanding the fact that January was well advanced and the atmosphere 
was decidedly raw. Ihe Japanese have mastered the science of intensive 
farming and a visit to the village markets will both convince and instruct. 

Our course lay along the shores of Yeddo bay and a more beautiful sight 
would be hard to imagine. On the one hand were the country homes of Japan 
set among a wilderness of green, — gardens, fields, hills and valleys, while on 
the other lay the placid waters of the bay, freely studded with sampans and 
larger boats of various descriptions, each plying its respective tradt. 

As the train rumbled on we were impress- d by two or three things in partic- 
ular; first of all, that riding on the imperial railways is not as comfortable as 
it should be, or as it could be if a good roadbed were provided and a small 
sum were invested in springs for the coaches and seats. We were also impress- 
ed by the fact that no conductor or brakemen appeared on the train and the 
stations, through which we passed, were not announced. 

Finally we entered the suburbs of Tokyo and a few minutes later stopped at 
Shimbasi station. 

As we were leaving the coach a hoarse rumbling sound came to our ears, 
and we stopped abruptly. Our first feeling of astonishment, however, turned 
to one of amusement when we discovered that the disturbance was caused by 
the hundreds of wooden shoes, worn by the curious throng at the station, as 
they shuffled down the concrete platform to meet the incoming traio. The 
noise was deafening, unlike anything we had ever heard, and is one of the un- 
forgetable incidents of our Japanese visit. 

Having alighted from the coach we were compelled to pass through another 
turnstile in leaving the depot, where our tickets were taken up and we were 
free to enter the city. 

Before leaving Yokohama a missionary friend who had been stationed at 
Tokyo for several years and who was able to both read and write the Ian- 



12 L:1XD OF TEE MOXGOL-Japan 

gTiag-e, wrote upon oxa card in Japanese the address of a business house in the 
city which we ^vished to visit and which, we were told, would relieve us of 
any embarrassment in directing the native jinrikishamen to the place. The 
instructions were of slight value to us, however, as it required a quarter of an 
hour's time and much unceremonious sign language to get results, which 
would indicate that a large percentage of the Japanese are unable to read 
their own language, and it is to impress this thought upon the minds of our 
readers that we mention this incident. 

Tokyo, the eapitol of Japan, is a real metropolitan center, with some 2,000.- 
000 inhabitants, and is the most presentable. — I might say only presentable. — 
city we sa^v in the empire. The Ginza. the main business thoroughfare, is 
wide, substantially paved and can claim a number of really creditable business 
blocks, while a double-:rack electric street railway line rues practically the 
full length of the stree-, Tvith a cross line extending well into the suburbs. 
To this extent the picture looks familiar, and modern. — but only this far. — for 
everything else is rypically oriental. — and ^hy should it not be so? 

"Rikishas are everywhere in abundance, unintelligible Japanese business 
signs stand out prominently from every business front, the claitar of wooden 
shoes and the chatter of unfamiliar tongaes create a medley of discordant 
sound reminding the traveler constantly that he is indeed ia Japan and that 
a new univers-? is around him. 

Shortly after reaching the city we engaged "rikishas for a sightseeing tour 
of the city. This included a visit to Shina and (Jnyena, parks, the Buddhist 
tcrmple of th'^ 7th and 9cq Shogan Dynasty, pagodas in the vicinity, the Em- 
peror's palace, the consular section, etc. The parks w<?re very beautiful, but 
in the natural rather than the artificial. Circuitous roads ^nd in and out 
through giant forests unmarred by the hands of man, while an occasional 
temple, ^veather-stained and aged, by the roadsid>-: a toweringing pagoda al- 
most hidden from view by the drooping foliage or a quaint tea garden with its 
invariable gayety lend an enchantment to the scene that leads the traveler to 
forget many of his previous unfavorable impressions of the island empire. 

The Buddhist temple of the Tth and 9:h Shogun Dynasty is located in the 
heart of Shiba park and is one of the largest and most historic in Japan. The 
building was erected about SCO years ago and the outer court contaif s many 
incense altars contributed by the provincial, ^stat-). governors of that period. 
To the rear of the temple are the tombs of the Shoguos of the Tth and 9tb. dy- 
nasties, and it was with no little feeling of pride that the black-robed Bud- 
dhist priest explained, in his broken way. the past glories of the shoguns. 

Upon arrival at the temple, we found it necessary tj pay the pri-st his 
■■price" for the privilege of in-specring the place. This done, he very eour- 
teosly took up th-? task of showing us through. Before doing this, however, 
a white cloth over-covering was fitted and tied over our shoes, for the dual 
purpose, no doubt, of keeping the temple clean and undeiiied by actual contact 
with the feet of an infidel, (sine^i we were Caristians). We passed from one 
apartment to another, each neatly covered with matting and containing its 
usual charcoal pot. but otherwise conspicuous for its emptiness. The walls 
were often elaborately carved, the outlines of the dragon, the lion and certa::a 



mXD OF THE MOKQOL'-Japan 18 

hideous animal forms standing out prominently. 

Finally we passed into an inner chamber which was, to all appearances, a 
sacred room for the habitat of their gods. The busts of Buddha were there 
as were also the images of numerous other gods of lesser magnitude. The 
place was extravagantly adorned, the ceiling and wal's richly carved and in- 
laid in gold. Incense was burning at the altar. This inner chamber had been 
exempt in its sanctity from the ravaging bands that had stripped the rest of 
the temple bare, for it is a well known fact that the Buddhist temples in the 
Far East, under the strain of a dying faith and a waning influence, are being 
shorn of their former splendor and but a few years hence will stand alone as 
the silent emblems of that dead faith which mastered the destinies of count- 
less millions through succeeding centuries. 

The day was well spent before we turned our feet from the temple confines 
to the 'rikishas awaiting us. A moment later, comfortably seated and snugly 
"wrapped in the blankets the vehicle provided, we gave the sign to the "men at 
the shafts" and were soon jogging along toward the Mikado's (Emperor's) pal- 
ace. To the Japanese tbe executive mansion is the personification of all that 
is splendid, elaborate and ornately beautiful, but to the American tourist it 
appears a very modest structure overlooking a wide expanse of sharply roll- 
ing prairies, conspicuous only for the net-work of fences and squads of militia 
whose duty it is to protect his majesty from needless encroachment or possible 
danger. The buildin? is a frame structure, moderate in size, with the usual 
oriental "turn" roof and painted a flawless white. The interior is elaborately 
finished and furnished, in striking contrast to tae painfully plain exterior. 

Numerous barbed wire fences enclose the pa' ace and at every vantage point 
squads of soldiers in khaki could be seen on the day of our visit, gun in hand 
and alert for any emergency. 

A few blocks from the palace are the legislative halls, together with various 
other government buildings, and the consular section is near by. All of these 
building are imposing structures and noticeably out of harmony with the 
native surroundings. 

Our visit to Tokyo did much to give us a favorable impression of Japan. The 
city, as a whole, is comparatively clean; intelligently governed and is well in 
advance of any other city in the empire in every respeC". This thought, how- 
ever, is apt to suggest itself after the acquaintance with ofBcial Japan that 
the Tokyo visit, affords, viz., that the governing class in the empire is much 
more than head and shoulders above the masses in intelligence and modern 
business acumen, and if this ascending power in the Far East has anything to 
fear it lies in the faulty foundation which an incompetent and therefore in- 
efScient citizenship might mean. The rank and file in Japan are living fifty 
years b hind the pace set by their legislators and it would seem that with the 
additional responsibilities, the excessive taxation on the one hand and the 
prevalent poverty on the other, the country will do well to avoid anarchy and 
internal strife. Only the staunchest patriotism is now holding disturbance in 
check under the galling Russian war tax and nothing short of self-sacrifice 
will keep the horizon clear. Incredible as it may seem, 40 per cent of the 
gross earnings of the average Japanese is now being paid for taxes and the 



n L:1.YD OF THE MOXGOL-Japan 

load is not light. In passing it might be well to explain that a feudal system 
long in operation there has placed the wealth of the coiintry in the hands of a 
few, and it is these few and the r descendants who have traveled extensively, 
stndied in American and European colleges and universities and returned to 
Japan with the determination to modernize the land of their birth. 

Perhaps the most interesting point in Tokyo to the average tourist is the 
Japanese department store. (We can use the word '•the" consistently here, 
since there was but one such store in the Empire at the time of our visit.) 

We had been advised by an American friend where the store could be found 
and accordingly made our way down the Ginza to the point named. We found 
only a small booth, perhaps Sx"20 feet in size, and. believing that we had been 
wrongly directed, were on the point of returning to the street when we dis- 
covered a door to the right, at the rear. Prompted solely by curiosity we 
passed through and found ourselves in another booth of similar dimensions 
but displaying a different line of merchandise. We also noticed that this room 
extended back toward the street, parallel to the one we had just left and that 
the floor took a sharp up-grade from the original level. Walking up-hill, as 
it were, we traversed the length of this second booth and were amused to find 
another exit leading into a third department. There was still the same sharp 
incline and we were persuaded that we now stood directly over the first or 
ground floor booth at which we had entered. On, on, up. up we went, through 
what seemed to be numberless departments, each turning back over its neigh- 
bor and zig-zagging in such a manner as to utilize the limited parcel of ground 
upon which it was built with an economy that ought to make the spirit of 
Eussell Sage shout for joy. 

Our recollections of the haunted house, with its mysterious chambers, was 
fast beginning lo get hold upon us when we suddenly discovered that the 
floor had exchanged its sharp incline for an equally disconcerting decline and 
that we were now gomg down-grade through an endless labyrinth of depart- 
ments, zig zagging as before, each department presendng its own pecu iar 
lines of merchandise and each a shopping center in itself. We finally emerge 
into the street once more, but a different str;=et from the one at which we had 
entered. 

This, then, was a Japanese department store, aad it was a novel one at that 
Elevators, there were none, nor were other mcdus provided to serve the 
customer with any particular dispatch. If Mrs. Rummage wished to purchase a 
2 yen idol or a 4 sen package of pins she must needs go through the same 
grilling ordeal of ^vinding in and out through countless bazaars as we had 
done and at the very least calculation devote a half hour's time in making the 
journey and the purchase But she would fiad bargains in every booth and 
could possibly spend the time pleasantly enough so long as the "coin of the 
realm" held out. 

We were again reminded of Tokyo's progressiveness when, aft^r having be- 
come better acquaint* d with the Shimbasi railway station, we found a lunch 
room on the second floor of the depot, conducted, as they thought, in modern 
style. Most of the food offered for sale were peculiar native mixtures and not 
at all palateable to Americans: afttr some dfBculty, however, we secured a 
vegetable soup that was fairly agreeable and sufficient to allay hunger until 
we cou'd get to more satisfactory quarters. 



L:^XD OF THE MOXGOL-Japan i5 



CHAPTER V 
IN THE SHADES OF FUJI 

Sixty miles west of Yokohama the picturesque village of Shimizu nestles 
comfortably at the base of imposing mountains. Fujiyama, that sacred moun- 
tain of Japan, rears its head masterfully above them all, snow-capped and 
beautiful, — indeed, the vrriter has never beheld the symmetry and grace of 
this distinguished peak to better advantage than from the shell-slrewn beach 
of this rustic village in the heart of the most productive tea area of Japan. 

1 remember distinctly the sensation I felt as our ship steamed slowly into 
the tranquil harbor, one bright May morning, past verdant islands and al- 
most into the very shades of Fuji, the must perfect and beautiful peak in the 
world. Shimizu, with its simple country homes and quaint country folk; with 
its unique potteries and stranger native shops, lay spread before us, while a 
huge battleship, fully manned and alert, floated lazily at our bow. 1 should 
say in passing that Shimizu is a closed port and foreigners cannot enter there 
without special permission from the consular service and such permission is 
usually difficult to obtain. Being a closed port, a battleship is stationed in 
ihe harbor regularly to enforce the regulations and see that the law is sus- 
tained in every particular. Our movements vere closely watched by the wily 
Japs and no sooner had we cast anchor than a small boat was lowered from 
the war monster and as promptly manned and this vessel began moving in a 
circle around our ship, keeping up the maneuvers throughout the day. 

The battleship was one captured from the Chinese in ihe Battle of the Yalu 
during the Chino- Japanese War and has been remodeled for a training ship 
for native cadets. Like all the other war vessels of Japan the vessel is paint- 
ed a dull sla,!*^ or mud color and would, no doubt, be capable of doing much 
mischief in times of strife. 

Our entrance into the, harbor was for the purpose of taking aboard 1,500 
cases of tea, a special consignment for export, and before we had hardly come 
to full stop a small fleet of barges had lashed themselves to the sides of the 
giant liner, ready to feed the monster derricks that were even then swinging 
into position. In an incredibly short time four derricks and winches were op- 
erating through as many hatches and a steady stream of barges was moving 
between the ship and the shore. 

The village appeared so unusually interesting, (or rather unexplored), and 
prolific in interesting features that gloom reigned aboard our ship when it be- 
came known that passengers could not go ashore. Fortunately, however, a 
Japanese consul happened to be a passenger among us and, after some delay, 
a small company, of which the writer was a part, secured the necessary per- 
mission and were soon aboard a native sampan bound for the shore. 

No sooner had we landed than it became apparent, beyond question, that 
foreigners were unusual visitors in Shimizu, for we became the sensation of the 
whole town and were soon surrounded by an amazed, gaping crowd of brown 
humanity, which was augmented as we proceeded, finally blocading the street 



16 MXD OF THE MOMGOL-Japan 

when the school children, homeward bound, joined the throng, and the weird 
chatter of unknown tongues was deafening. There were men and women and 
children, infants in arms and more frequently lashed to the back of brother or 
sister, there were men with nets fresh from the sea and curious humanity of 
all ages and stages, representing practically every situation and condition in 
life. But their was no evident intention of molesting us, only an intense cur- 
iosity and a frequent manifestatioQ of glee at our appearance and unfamiliar* 
ity with the things about us. We used the crowd to good advantage, however, 
and gathered much valuable information from the peculiar situation in which 
we were placed. 

So far as we could learn not a soul about us could speak or understand a 
word of English, yet the language was being taught in the schools of Shimizu. 
Of this latter fact we were convinced when, after examining the school books 
carried by several young .lapanesf? in the curious throng, we found a number 
of English grammars. It is a eafe prediction that their study of the language 
is very superficial and so "bookish" as to make the rapid-fire pronunciation 
an enigma But the fact remains that English has become a Subject of study 
by orientals and that a few years hence the tourist to the "lands beyond the 
seas" will experience little of the language troubles that came to us. 

All through the afternoon the excited throng followed us and Shimizu was 
not at rest until evening, when we hailed a sampan and were all enroute to 
our ship out in the bay. 

The village homes are almost uniformly smali frame structures, often with 
hay-ihatehed roofs, the streets very narrow and the sidewalks conspicuous 
for their absecce. But there is a delightful beach, — one of very few we have 
saen that had not, been robbed of its pebbles and shells and natviral attractive- 
ness by tou'^ists. A broad, sandy beach, strewn with the prettiest specimens, 
extends for a mile or more along the waterfront and evary in-conring tide de- 
posits a new array of these. We spent a very pleasant hour doing what tour- 
ists usually do, — "gathering up the shells by the seashore," 

Shimizu possesses extensive pottery works and high grade porcelain wara 
constitutes a large part of the exports of the town. A visit to the plant enab- 
les the tourist to witness all the stages of developement from the crude mold- 
ing and baking to the delicate hand painting and crating for shipment. The 
writer selected an unpainted tea pot as a memento of the occasion and was as- 
tonished when the price was given a- 5 sen, (23^c). Notwithstandiog the ex- 
travagance (?) of the price he "stuck to his bar^-ain" and included the ware 
among his curios. 

At the northern extremity of the harbor, a short distance north of Shimizu, 
is the summer pa' ace of 'he Empress, — a quaint, moderately sized structure 
under the very bro v of encroaching mountains. Every summer the Mikado's 
consort comes dow^n to Shimizu to spend a couple months or more amid the 
rustic surroundings and at such times the unsophisticated village is in the 
limelight. 

But the supreme thing about Shimizu is Fuji and no matter how indifferent 
the tourist may be he cannot escape the fact that this peak actually lives in 




Her Brother's Keeper 

THE MOST FAMII.IAR SIGHT IN JAPAN 



L:^KD OF THE MOXGOL-Japan 17 

the lives of the village folk and he soon learns that Shimizu is known abroad 
more than anything else because of its proximity to this famous mountain 
and the splendid view of the peak that its location affords. 

The writer has seen practically every mountain of prominence in the United 
Stated and some abroad but he has seen none that stood out so artistically 
perfect aod imposing as Fuji. Pikes Peak in Colorado rises to a slightly high- 
er altitude but is irregular and impressive only because of its massivevess and 
the same might be said of Blanco. Mis. Rainier and Hood and Shasta of the 
Cascades are beautiful in their way bat leave the impression that they may 
have been sit upon in the making- before they were dry. Mt, Baker is the 
most beautiful and more nearly resembles Fuji, Our American peaks rise 
among a cluster of lesser peaks and th^js lose mui^h of their impressiveness. 
Fujiyama, on the other band, rises almost abrubtly from an extensive basin 
to an altitude of more than 12,000 feet, an almost perfect cone, while its snow 
crowned peak, radiating into furrows of snow extending far down the rocky 
sides produce a picture that makes the warm blood flow in one's veins, Fuji- 
yama is not sacred nor divine, but it is grand and divinely beautiful and we 
are disposed to excuse much of the native ego that attaches to the place. 



i8 MXD OF TEE MOKQOL-^Japan 



CHAPTER VI 
THE INLAND SEA 

No travel sketch touching- Jaoan would be complete without a reference to 
the Inland Sea, without doubt the most picturesque inland water body known 
today, and no matter how capable the author or how carefully or delicately 
worded his contribution might be no pen picture can do justice to the place. 
Words cannot express the sublime beauty reposing in the countless mats 
of green rising majestically above the tranquil waters, islands faultlessly 
clothed in nature's evergreen, — silent sentinels of the watery waste; — nor can 
words describe the awe-inspiring coast line, always visible, and never wanting 
in imposing mountain back grounds, green in woods and fields and skirted, 
frequently, by quaint country villages. This and more the Inland Sea affords 
and a day's sailing on it's surface, threading in and out among the island 
groups, cannot fail to entertain and fascinate. 

Without doubt there is no portion of a trans-Pacific voyage that offers more 
attractions to the tourist than the passage through the Inland Sea of Japan, 
and 1 am sure no spot is more widely known nor more intensely anticipated. 
So it was that we looked forward with no little degree of interest to this part 
of our journey, and the evening of a certain uneventful day at sea brought our 
reward. 

We were due to arrive at Kobe at this time, and as the big liner crept up to 
its buoy we beheld to our left the far-famed straits which admit to these 
peaceful waters and the captivating panorama of their borderland. 

The day following our arrival at the sea entrance was devoted to sight-see- 
ing in Kobe, which, from the Japanese standpoint, is considered to be quite 
modern but which, to the occidental, is painfully oriental. The points of in- 
terest consist of massive mountain backgrounds, the usual Buddhist temples 
and the more usual native shopping bazaars. Linen drawn work and em- 
broidery trimmed patterns we found everywhere and extremely cheap in 
price, as were also the most exquisitely delicate and beautiful drawn work in 
linen and native fabrics. An object that never fails to attract the attention 
of tourists is the merchants' display, which is in almost every essential detail 
a museum, and which is none the less interesting. Some little distance out of 
the business section the traveler finds a very ordinary looking single story 
frame building, unattractive without but unusually attractive within. A sep- 
arate department in this building has been assigned to each particular line of 
merchandise and before the visitor has made the rounds of the premises he 
has come face to face with practically every known article of Japanese manu- 
facture and the displays are very beautiful. The various lines are attractively 
arranged in glass cabinets and the price of each article is indicated on a tag 
suspended from each. In many respects the place bears the ear-marks of a 
department store, but its object seems to be to exploit native manufacture, 
and little or no effort is made to effect sales, although purchases can be made 
if the visitor de&ires. The most elaborate of the displays include hand em- 



mKD OF THE MOXaOL-'Japan 19 

broideried silk patterns and kimonos, artistically engraved metalic trinkets 
and cnrios and an extravagant assortment of hand painted china and porcelain 
ware, as well as many designs in Satsuma and other rare and expensive pieces. 

One of the largest open air markets we have seen in Japan we visited in 
Kobe and had it not been fur a too intimate knowledge of some of the un- 
healthful conditions surrounding many of their gardens and vineyards and 
the market, itself, we would probably have pitched our tent and taken out 
our naturalization papers in the Sunrise Kingdom (?) As it was, the odor aris- 
ing from the fish quarters and from decaying fruits and vegetables discarded 
from the market from day to day was stifling and not conducive to improving 
the appetite. The display of fruits and vegetables was unusually fine, both in 
size and c olorings, but we could not forget that we had seen thriving gardens 
growing in the cemeteries of Japan, the gravestones almost smothered beneath 
luxuriant vines and we had seen even more repulsive conditions that removed 
from us any desire to purchase at the market. Our readers, perhaps, already 
know that the crowded conditions existing in many oriental countries have 
driven the people to desperate straits for land upon which to eke out an exis- 
tence and in Japan the mountains have, in many cases, been terraced to the 
very top, and so urgent has the need of land become, in some instances, that 
cemeteries are actually farmed. Many of the Japans fruits and vegetables 
ar^ feimilar to those raised in America. Tht^se include the apple, strawberry 
and cherry; the Irish potato, beans, peas, radishes, etc., etc.; while the fields 
produce an abundant yield of rice, flax, wheat, etc. There are also many un- 
namable varieties of fruits and vegetables of various shapes and colorings. 

An object of never-failing interest to the traveler are the Japanese farmer 
folk as they come to town on their shopping expeditions. Attired in their un- 
ique costumes, broad brimmed straw hats and in rainy weather wearing that 
make-up of tufted hay which for all the world resembles a hay shock moving 
at will about the streets. This manner of raincoat is also worn by many of 
the poorer city folk. 

It was ia the small hours of the morning that our ship lifted anchor at Kobe 
wheeled about in her course and steamed through the narrow entrance into 
the Inland sea. We awoke amid picturesque islands and all of that day we 
sailed between green, mountainous shores; threading our way among count- 
less islands profusely carpeted with miniature evergreen and the view 
throughout was beautiful. But the writer can remember a voyage he made 
through the inland sea when the beauties were cot so inviting. An impene- 
trable fog shut out every living thing and and as a precaution for the safety 
of its passengers tha big ship slowed down to a snail's pace to avoid collision 
with unseen islands. 

If the Inland sea is beautiful, — and who will say that it is not, — the Shim- 
onoseki straits are superb. Wheeling sharply and turning half about at Moji 
lighthouse, our ship entered between two massive walls of rock, (The Nar- 
rows), and for one and one-third miles we could almost have thrown a rock to 
either shore. Barren rocks gave way to terraced hillsides, towering moun- 
tains, scattered villages and grimy coal mining shafts, while sLeam and sail- 
ing crafts of various descriptioas dotted the waters about us. The beautiful 



20 m.VD OF TEE MOXaOL-Japan 

hills and imposing mountains looked perfectly harmless, hut their sides are 
thickly studded with concealed hatteries and with the assistance of the thous- 
ands of torpedo mines that infest the bottom of the strait through which we 
sailed could, at a moment's notice, destroy the life of almost every living thing 
in the channel. 

Leaving the Shimonoseki strait we enter the strait of Korea, the stormiest 
body of water on the globe, with the possible exception of Cape Horn. 



L:^ND OF THE MOmOL-^Japan 21 



CHAPTER VII 
NAGASAKI 

Nagasaki, the metropolis of Kiushiu and the last port of prominence to 
open its doors to foreign commerce, occupies a strategic position on the west 
coast of the island named and, m many respects, is the most interesting city 
in Japan. It is the last port of entry for vessels bound to China or Manila, 
one and one half days from the former and three days from the latter. 

From the viewpoint of the mariner the harbor is unsurpassed, of adequate 
depth and positively safe in times of storm; the military strategist would say 
that it offered every natural advantage for defense and that v^ith its present 
fortifications the point was invulnerable to any attack; the naturalist would 
pronounce it the most picturesque harbor ia the world; bat the student of his- 
tory would find in the city and its environments, — bristling with reminders of 
a primitive age, — a fascinatioD unsurpassed by any of these; for Nagasaki, 
more than other treaty port in Japan, is living in the past, encompassed about 
on every hand, as it were, with historical reminiscences of more than common 
interest. The missionary would fix his eyes upon yonder island and recall 
with horror that from those prec ipitous cliffs the last of the faithful Christians 
two centuries ago were hurled to their death, leaving none, — not a soul,-in all 
Japan to tell the story of the Nazarene. But in spite of this unpleasant chap- 
ter in the history of Japanese missions he cannot forget that almost miracu- 
lously this city was the first to revive Christianity and to germinate the seed 
from which sprang much of the present friendliness toward the Gospel. (Our 
readers will recall that after a lapse of many years, after the principlt-s of 
Christianity had been forgotten, a tiny volumn was picked from the waters of 
Nagasaki bay and presented to the governor, who, being unable to read the 
book, summoned one after another of bis people, finally succeeding in finding' 
a man who knew something of the language. The book was a bible and with- 
in a short time the governor and many of his subjects had embraced the faith. 
But Nagasaki possesses many historical reminiscences that have no religious 
significence and the studt-nt. will find much to interest. As a matter of fact the 
port has been open to the world but a few short years and the city impresses 
the traveler with a rawness that emphasizes the brevity of these years. 

The sun was just creeping above the water line, one bright morning, when 
our ship steamed into the harbor entrance, halted for medical inspection and 
advanced to its buoj up' the harbor. From the deck we beheld lofty moun- 
tains rising almost abruptly from either bide of tbe pocket-like harbor, green 
to their very crests and not infrequently terrace upon terrace, thrifty in gard- 
ens and fields. Farther up-harbor the city could be seen clinging to the 
mountain sides and running back into the interstices between. So abrupt 
were the stony cliffs that in some instances three and even four tiers of houses 
could be seen, one perched above another and each with its thrifty terraced 
garden. It would be diflScult to conceive of a more picturesque sight and with 
the exception of Hong Kong, China we have seen none more beautiful from a 
topographical viewpoint. By nigh*^, with the flickering lights dancing from 



22 mMD OF THE MOKaOL-Japan 

various heights the sight is remarkably beautiful. 

This is the center of the great coal fields of Japan, and some of the best coal 
in the world, it is said, is mined in the immediate vicinity. All of the big 
ocean steamers coal here, and the process by which this is done is an enter- 
tainment in itself. The time having arrived for the coaling of some particu- 
lar ship, coal barg-es in large numbers may be seen to push away from the 
shore and with snail-like pace approach the vessel. Since these barges are 
very often the homes of their owners, it is the common thing to see "madame" 
and from one to several youngsters at the stern. Following the barges groups 
of sampans may be seen to push away, loaded to their capacity with men, 
women, boys and girls. A white 'kerchief or cloth usually makes up the head 
gear and the scene as the coaling fleet approaches is uoique in the extreme. 
The barges are lashed to the giant liner, bamboo ladders carried in sections 
are put into position, reaching from the junks to the bunkers thirty feet or 
so above, and a few minutes later these gangways are veritably alive with 
swarming, jostling humanity. Upon each rung of the ladder a Jap has taken 
his place, — properly speaking we might say "her place," as most of the helpers 
are women and girls. Having taken their positions, the coal, in straw recep- 
tacles holding about 20 pounds, is passed hand over hands from the barges 
to the ship's bunkers with a speed aad regularity that would put the average 
Kansas bucket brigade to shame. The perforfamance gives the impression 
that the baskets are literally tossed from hand to hand and they move up the 
improvised pathway with the regularity and precision of machinery and so 
rapidly that the empties are constantly in the air as they descend to be refill- 
ed. The writer can understand how this would be posj-ible for a few momeuts 
on exhibition but how human beings can maintain this rapidity and exactness 
from seven in the mornin^ until t-vo or three o'clock in the afternoon with 
scarcely a sign of weariness or f dtigue is beyond his mental conception. He 
has seen as many as thirty columns of baskets pouring th- ir contents into the 
bosom of the ship at one lime and he has watched the performance for hours 
but he has never seen a helper weaken in the ranks or retire with any expres- 
sion of being greatly fatigued. For this grilling performance the helpers are 
usually paid from 20 to 30 sen each, (10c to 15c), and we were told that more 
coal is handled in Nagasaki in a single day by hand than in Saa Francisco by 
machinery in three. 

Nagasaki is the Mecca of the curio seeker and it might be said just as truly 
that her people find their Mecca in the tourist. The incoming steamer has 
scarcely come to 'a full stop before anxious swarthy faces are swarming up the 
gangway with packs on their back and during the stay in port the passenger 
is under siege. The city is prolific in extravagant bronze pieces, unique silver 
and "'near-silver" trinkets, rare satsuma collections and the most elaborate 
and complete display of hand painted china and porcelain ware we have seen 
in Japan. There is also a ship-building yard, the usual temples and other 
peculiar Japanese institutions. 

Nagasaki is the strongest fortified point in the empire and one of the strong- 
est in the world. It is one of the cities where tourists cannot carry kodaks, 
the laws providing that none can be used within 7 000 feet of fortifications, 




Buddhist Temple, Nagasaki, Japan 



LsiKD OF THE MOKGOL-Jajpan 28 

CHAPTER VIII 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS IN JAPAN 

The manners and customs as practiced among' the Japanese are so striking- 
ly in contrast to those in effect in America as to offer the tourist a never-end- 
ing' source for study and amusement. Whether by coincidence or otherwise, 
the fact remains that they do things "differently" in Japan, and so amazingly 
different that the writer has thought it advisable to devote a chapter exclu- 
sively to this phase of "The Flowery Kingdom." 

Peculiarities in the manners and customs herein related were in evidence on 
every hand on the occasion of both of our visits to Japan and in many respects 
are a type of the manners and customs practiced throughout the Far East. 
Just what the origin of many of these customs may have been is a problem not 
easily answered and upon which so called authorities cannot agree; but so un- 
iversally contrary are they to our own that the question becomes all the more 
interesting. 

Beginning with the borne, we find that the roof of the Japanese house is first 
constructed, while with us the foundation is first laid. The tools of the Jap- 
anese carpenter have a reverse action to our own. Saws are made to cut on 
the upward puli instead of the downward thrust; drawing knives are pushed 
away from the body, planes are pulled toward the body, for rough hewing an 
adz-like ax, working hoe-fashion, chops the timber to the shape desired. Gim- 
lets are threaded in the opposite way to our own, screws also have their 
threads reversed; key holes are made up side down to ours and the keys turn 
backwards. 

'I he best rooms in the house are in the rear, while with us the reverse is us- 
ually true. However, the Jap has probably used good judgment in this ar- 
rangement, as the rooms in the rear are quieter and much to be preferred in a 
laod where the houses are built abutting upon the streets, and particularly 
upon such noisy streets as they can boast of in Japan. The clock, if it is an 
old one, will have stationary hands with the face revolving backwards and the 
hours marked 6, .5, 4, 3, etc., reckoning onward from noon. 

Upon entering the house the American removes his hat but the Jap removes 
his shoes, and "our little brown brother of the Orient" seats himself upon the 
floor, whereas the American finds as much embarassment as discomfort while 
he is conforming to the custom. Perhaps we ought to explain here that the 
Japanese street shoe is nothing more nor less than a heavy wooden sandal 
held to the feet by a double cord loop. Socks are made of cloth, (usually 
white), with a separate compartment for the large toe, The cord on the shoe 
slips between the toes and is held in position in this way. A movement of the 
foot backward releases the shoe and the process is both quick and convenient. 
The attendance at a theater or other public entertainment can easily be esti- 
mated from the heap of shoes at the door. 

When a Japanese commences to read a book he turns to the "back," where 
the first chapters of their books begin. Not content with this inconsistency, 



2 A m^D OF THE MOKGOL-Japan 

the lines are made to run "up and down" the page, while ours run horizontal- 
ly. He also reads from the right page to the left and the foot notes, instead 
of being at the bottom of the page are at the top. T6e greater margin of the 
book is also at the top. 

An examination of the Japanese newspaper reveals the fact that their col- 
umns, (somewhat wider than ours), extend horizoatally and tha lines vertical- 
ly, as in the books referred to. The papers are quite unintelligible to the for- 
eigner who cannot read the native language, but there are, neverthtjless, 
many interesting features and the advertisements are not the least of these. 
The "ads" are, of course, set in the native language but the introduction for 
sale of foreign goods has resulted in the use of many illustrations familiar to 
Americans These include shoes and oxfords, phonographs, familiar brands 
of concentrated milks, trade marks of proprietary medicines and last but not 
least frequent or conspicuous is the mammoth beer bottle with the words in 
English on the label, "brewed in Germany." The Japanese idea of cartoon- 
ing is also brought out in the news sheets es well as the continued story and 
its accompanying illustrations. The front page of the paper is on the outside 
of the "back" page, and thus is the Japanese ioconsistency again emphasized. 

The Japanese manner of letter writing is no less peculiar and interesting. 
The writer takes a roll, (not a sheet), of paper, — small or large, as his needs 
demand, — and begins the letter along the curve of the roll. It commences as 
ours would end, and vice versa, and when completed is inserted lengthwise in 
an envelope. The address is also written inversely to our custom and will 
read something like the following: '-Japan. Tokyo, Muko-Juna, No. 66, Aki- 

to ya, Mr. , etc." The postage stamp should be placed on the back of the 

envelope. Another evidence that the Japanese do things differently is found 
in the fact that the shopkeepers, in making out s atements of items purchased 
write first the figures and then the articles to which they relate. The Japan- 
ese gentleman, when going for a ride, will mount the horse from the right 
hand side, contrary to our own custom. 

Referring to the social customs, we are amused to find that "after-dinner 
speeches" are made before the binquet begins, instead of at the close; and this 
plan, no doubt, has its merits, as the speaker, no less anxious to sample the 
feast than are his bored auditors, usually makes himself very brief. 

In Japan one does not go to bed; the bed comes, (or rather is brought), to 
him. It is also quite common to wash the feet first in commencing bathing 
operations. 

If, after the recital of these facts, our esteemed reader is not convinced 
that they do things "differently" in Japan, we have only to add that young 
ladies make no effort to conceal their ages and are often quite anxious that 
the number of their years be known that they may receive the added court- 
eousies that go with age. This is the straw that broke the camel's back, and 
our reader must stand convinced of our claim. 



L:^D OF THE MOmOl-GUna 25 



CHAPTER IX 
THE PLAINS OF THE YANGSTE 

Looking backward in memory to our informal introduction to China, two or 
three impressions, in particular, stand out indellibly, and will linger, no doubt 
as long as life shall last. As though it were yesterday, I can see the placid 
waters of the Yangste reaching out toward the sky and yielding almost im- 
perceptibly to the low-lying plains beyond; I can see to the southward the 
quaint village of Wusung, its hay-thatched houses resembling, in the distance, 
thick set shocks of hay on a new mown field; I caa see the waters about and 
below us floating innumerable Chinese junks, weather beatea and stained and 
in design resembling the craft of a century and even many centuries ago; and 
I can see, huddled uncomfortably in the rocking boa*s, various specimens of 
humanity, stern and immovable in features, — the very personification of des- 
pair, fighting off the raw north wind and pleading for coin. 

During the preceding night our ship had completed its voyage from Japan, 
by way of the Yellow Sea, and the rising sun saw us floating at anchor in the 
mouth of the Yangste. With the morning's dawn the writer sought the open 
deck, anxious to catch his first glimpse of the Celestial Empire, — in transition. 
Far out toward the sky line the plains of the Yangste lay unbroken as far as 
the eye could reach, dotted here and there by indistinguishable objects and 
so low and fiat that the eye could scircely tell where the waters stopped and 
the land began. We had read often of disastrous floods, crop ruin and famine 
and we knew, now, what unspeakable havoc lay in the power of this mighty 
river to perform. For two thousand miles the Yangste winds down from its 
mountain source through picturesque canons and gorges, spreading out as it 
reaches the plain until it has attained, at its mouth, a width of sixty miles. 
Such an enormous volumn of water and debris flows from this mighty river 
that the waters of the ocean are discolored for hundreds of miles and because 
, of this discoloration to the Yangste and Hwang Ho belong the credit for the 
naming of the Yellow Sea. 

The Great Plain of China extends in an almost unbroken stretch from the 
Yangste north to Peking and the province of Shan-Si, a distance of almost 600 
miles, and maintains a population estimated at 100,000,000 people. 

In a region so densely peopled, so low and flat and traversed by such rebel- 
lious streams as the Yangste and the Hwang Ho it is not strange that devas- 
tation comes, and especially is it not strange when it is remembered that the 
Chinese know little of levees and dykeing projects and endeavor less to put 
any such plans into execution. But in justice to them it should be said that 
adequate levees for these great rivers are almost out of the question and engi- 
neering projects surpassing anything yet attempted in this country will be 
necessary before the streams will be brought under submission. 

But the Yangste plains are fertile, so remarkably fertile that with the rud- 
est kind of tillage, with no scientific treatment and with no fertilizer they 
maintain a population exceeding 400 people to the square mile and the matter 



26 MXD OF THE MOmOL-mCMna 

really resolves itself into the query, "what might be done if this vast area 
were farmed along modern scientific lines and under an experienced hand?" 
Without doubt this is one of the most productive areas in the world. Follow- 
ing the floods that come often to the lands along the streams a mineral de- 
posit is usuaPy left behind that destroys all vegetation, and at such times as 
these the most unspeakable famine conditions exist. 

An incident connected with our arrival in China afforded us a splendid op- 
portunity to judge of the effects of modern civilization upon the Chinese and 
the possibilities that may come to them in the way of increased eflSciency and 
usefulness as a result of the new era now dawning. 

Reference has already been made to our mid-night arrival at the mouth of 
the Yangste, and it might be said further that the gray of dawn had scarcely 
appeared on the face of the waters until Chinese junks began to assemble 
about the big liner. The writer ascended to the promenade deck before the 
sun had yet risen and was astonished to see the big ship actually surrounded 
by these unique relics from antiquity, many of which had lashed themselves to 
the sides of the boat, while others were seeking vantage points that they 
might do lik«-wise. We had not walked far along the deck until we came in 
contact with a small net pocket attached to the slender end of a bamboo pole 
in the hands of a corpulent Chinese mother in a junk belo^r, and knew that 
we were being asked to contribuce to a company of persistent and prof essional 
beggars who watched eagerly for the arrival of foreign boats. Similar poles 
reached to the decks from junks at various points about the ship and the un- 
welcomed guests remained until the liner lifted anchor and steamed out for 
Foochoo and the south. 

Here, indeed, was a picture not only at yariance with our previous exper- 
iences in the Orient, but one in which was portrayed the first real weakness of 
the Chinese people. The first thought that presented iself to my mind was 
in the nature of a comparison between the little people of Japan, — their very 
near neighbors on the east, — and the less prssentable citizens of the Celestial 
Empire. The Jap, it is true, is not a little cunning and shrewd, is deficient in 
many of the better elements that go to make up occidental civilization and is 
not always as model and sanitary in matters of cleanliness as is usually attrib- 
uted to him, but he will not beg, he is too proud for that, and he is industrious 
to a remarkable degree, — which the Chinaman is not. 

The day was intensely cold, while a raw north wind convinced the passenger 
that he must needs move briskly along the deck if he would feel at all comfor- 
table, and yet entire Chinese families, sparingly clad and with no shelter from 
the frigid blast, stood or sat almost immovably in the rocking boats for hours 
beseeching their foreign visitors for coin. That they felt the piercing wind 
was evidenced by the drawn features and repeated attempts to draw their 
scanty clothing closer about, them, and the deplorable condition of their lot 
was intensified by the knowledge that with most of them they knew no other 
home than the uninviting boat in which they sat and that not today, alone, 
but tomorrow and the next and each succeeding day they must besiege the 
stranger at their gates and expose themselves and theirs to such extremes of 




street Scene, Shanghai, China 



L:^XD OF THE MOXaOL-CUna 27 

weather as the days might bring. 

Striking as was the scene, it became more striking in contrast to the pres- 
ence and conduct of one, Mr. Woo, a Chinaman of the aristocracy, who, as a 
passenger on our boat, was returning to the homeland after several years' 
study in American universities. In Mr. Woo there were apparent none of the 
primitive native instincts so characteristic of the people about us and in his 
conduct there was nothing to indicate that he had been reared among environ- 
ments a thousand years removed from modern manners and customs. His cue 
was gone, the native costume had been replaced by a neat sack suit of Ameri- 
can manufacture, he spoke English fluently and conversed both intelligently 
and interestingly. Here was a type of the younger generation of Chinese who 
are making themselves a potent factor in the reorganization and regeneration 
of the empire. The reader will hardly appreciate the contrast between the 
old China and the new, as typified in this picture, but I can assure you that 
as the young Chinaman walked the deck the contrast was not to be ignored 
and furnished the chief topic for conversation among the passengers. 

While the sun was yet in the eastern sky we perceived a steam launch mak- 
ing its way among the Chinese junks to the point where we lay anchored and 
were informed that the "Alexandra" would receive passengers for Shanghai, 
fourteen miles away. The suggestion was sufficient, and without further pre- 
liminaries we descended the gangway to the launch below, glad to abandon 
and forget the unpleasant scenes of the morning and anxious to see the aur 
cient city and commercial metropolis of the Chinese east coast. The last to 
descend the gangway was a Chinese girl of perhaps 16 years who, because of 
the cruel custom of feet binding, found it difficult to walk alone. In this par- 
ticular instance the feet had been dwarfed until they were no larger than the 
ankle itself and did not offer sufficient surface upon which to balance the body 
with any degree of certainty. Her costume indicated that she belonged to 
the aristocracy, but wealth and position would not support her now and she 
descended the gangway leaning upon the arms of two lady assistants, one on 
either side. We have seen many Chinese women and girls hobbling about 
with these diminutive feet, but we have never done so without a feeling of re- 
pulsion at the unnatural custom, which not only brings agonizing pain during 
the dwarfing process but which handicaps the individual in after life as well. 
Thanks to wholesome Christian influence the practice isnow^in disfavor among 
the Chinese themselves and is being abandoned. 

An interesting item among the Alexandra's cargo to Shanghai was $.oOO,000 
in silver bullion which had come from America and was destined to pass 
through the Shanghai mint, to reappear as native currency These silver 
bricks, piled promiscuously upon the deck, must have been a sore temptation 
to the Chinese sea-faring junk crews whom we met, a very large percentage of 
whom are said to be pirates when opportunities present themselves. 

The trip up the river to Shanghai is an interestiog one and is a constant re- 
minder that you are in a stringe land and among a strange people. On this 
particular occasion many junks were coming down the river toward us and 
I have never seen, even in China, a more ancient or primitive lot of junks and 



28 mXD OF THE MOJ^GOL-China 

the towering, black sails, patched and weather worn, were enough to break 
the slumbers of an Egyptian mummy. Hay thatched houses lined either bank 
of the stream, the monotony broken only occassionally by a frame structure 
and then the saddle-back effect in the roofs added a weirdness to the scene 
that was indescribable. There is a superstitious belief among the Chinese 
that evil spirits enter by that portion of the house and the corners of the roof 
are projected up in the belief that they can thus exclude them. 

Perhaps the first thought tbat comes to the tourist when he visits Shanghai 
for the first time is the feeling of relief that comes when he learns that there 
will be no tedious or vexatious delays by quarantine or customs officials. This 
being an English city, there are no duties and the traveler can come and go 
without being molested, nor are any precautions taken to prevent the arrival 
of contagious diseases on incoming ships. Whether or not the policy is a wise 
OT»e, we can assure our readers that after the aggravating experiences in our 
own customs houses and after getting out of bed at unseasonable hours to ac- 
commodate our own and Japanese health inspectors we thoroughly enjoyed 
the experience. 

Shanghai is a city of 400,000 inhabitants and is made up of two distinct sec- 
tions, viz., the old Chinese city within the walls and the newer city composed 
largely of English, German, French and American colonies. The city is under 
British control, and British manners and means are everywhere in evidence. 
The most con&picuou:5 figures upon the streets are the Sikas, East Indians from 
Punjab province, who have been imported for the specific duties of policemen 
and whose large, welL rounded physique fit them splendidly for this service. 
The Indians wear the gaudy Hindoo turbans, and the traveler might easily 
imagine himself in the heart of India. The Sitjas show the Chinese no lenien- 
cy and in return have the intense hatred of the people, but by reason of their 
British backing and their own powerful physique and utter fearlessness have 
them awed into submission. 

The city can boast of a well regulated street railway system, a small but 
beautiful park and several imposing business blocks on the waterfront; but 
these were constructed and are being operated and maintained by foreign cap- 
ital and enterprise. The park is one of the most beautiful the writer has ever 
seen and furnishes a delightful play ground for the children of American or 
European parents who may be residing in Shanghai. It is the usual thing to 
see a liberal sprinkling of foreign children in the park, each family group in 
charge of the "Amah," or nurse, usually a Chinese or Japanese lady. From 
the park the traveler may look down upon the river, with its congestion of 
traffic, and at a sweeping glance behold every form of water craft from the 
modern warship of the English, German, French and American navies and 
fashionable yachts to the most primitive tows and dredging boats which in- 
fest the harbor. Jinrikishas are everywhere in evidence and the clamor of the 
horde of 'rikishamen in their eager quest for business is nerve- wrecking. 

One of the perplexing problems with which the traver in China must con- 
tend is the uncertain and unstaple currency, with their fluctuating values. 
The new Republic has removed many of these difficulties, but at the time of 



LiAKD OF THE MOXQOL-China 29 

the writer's visit conditions were almost impossible. Shanghai, as a British 
concession, had its own individual currency known as "Shanghai money," and 
Hong Kong, another British concession, had a separate currency known as 
"Hong Kong money." In addition to these there was the native currency 
with a separate coinage for each province, the unit of value being in some 
cases the Chinese dollar and in others a piece of silver known as the tael. None 
of the monies named had any fixed value and varied with the markets from 
day to day. Shanghai money is invariably discounted at Hong Kong and vice 
versa, and native money is subject to an additional discount. In many cases 
the coins bear a striking resemblance and as all are in general circulation the 
unitiated tourist has an ever present worriment. As an example of question- 
able banking practice we might refer to the management of the Hong Kong 
& Shanghai Banking Corporation. This concern maintains a string of banks 
in the Far East, and each bank issues its own paper money. Should the tour- 
ist present a Shanghai note to the bank in Hong Kong or Manila owned by the 
same company he will be be held up for an exorbitant discount and the same 
is true all along the line. The writer once presented 130 pesos in bank notes 
issued by the company's bank in Manila to the sister bank in Hong Kong and 
was asked to allow an extortionate discount. He left the bank in disgust and 
walking up Queen's Koad, made the exchange with a Chinese money changer 
who had no connection with the company, and made between $3 and $3 by the 
transaction. The scriptural reference to "a den of thieves" might appropriate- 
ly be applied here. 



80 MXD OF THE MOXaOL-OMna 



CHAPTER X 
THROUGH THE MISTS 

It was a day in mid-winter, one of those dark, depressing days at sea when 
the cheerlessness without magnifies the cheerfulness within, — when the decks 
of ocean-going steamers are deserted for the more comfortable parlors and 
lounging rooms which the ships afford. A relentless "nor'easter" drove the 
sea heavily against our bow and enveloped in mists the landscape 'round about 
us. Only occasionally would the curtain rise, and then, for an instant, we 
could distinguish many miles away to the westward the rugged shores of the 
East China coast rising majestically out of the waters at their feet and silhou- 
etted against the sky like ragged clouds projected above the water line. We 
were steaming southward through the Formosa strait, one of the stormiest 
bodies of water on the globe. 

But there was nothing unusual in the day or the sea, for to the sea-farer a 
dark sky and a turbulent sea become very familiar, indeed. It was not in the 
mists that we marveled, but rather what came out of the mists that gave us a 
new vision of the seriousness of life to the Chinese. It was not the foam cap- 
ped billows that caught and held our gaze to the seething waters, but rather 
the tiny barks that rose and fell, perilously at times, but certainly and ab- 
ruptly, with the choppy sea; it was not the stinging blasts that swept our 
decks that led us to wonder and to admire, but rather the unflinching courage 
that held the faithful at the posts of duty in the grip of the storm that reveal- 
ed to us a fibre of strength, a conquering will without which the sea would 
have become a grave. Fishermen's barks, frail and buffeted by an angry sea, 
far from land and shrouded in mists, lay in our course through the whole long 
day fighting the sea with a desperation bora of need. Out of the mists sur- 
rounding us there would frequently appear a fiisherman's boat riding high up- 
on the crest of some passing swell, tilted with the wind until the bow sank 
deep into the briny waters, and the next instant it was gone, until picked up 
from the trough by some gigantic wave and lifted up, again to be released, to 
descend into the trough behind and lost to view. To the reader ten thousand 
miles away this crude word picture may not excite emotion and certainly can- 
not appear as it is, but to the observing tourist it is typical of China's desper- 
ate struggle for existence and indicative of the extreme poverty which drives 
her people to extreme means to appease. Perhaps it was the knowledge of 
these desperate needs that fixed so vividly in the mind of the writer the events 
of this day, lending color to the sc^ne and exciting a large measure of sympa- 
thy for those so plainly distressed 

Within the hovering mists thousands of primitive crafts fought the choppy 
sea that day, isolated by storm, swept by briny spray, chilled to the freezeing 
point by wintry blasts and facing imminent destruction each fleeting moment 

but unwavering. As darkness came on the boats could be seen heading for 

shore, but at the snail's pace progress they were able to make against the 
storm it must have been late, very late into the night, before the haven was 



L:^KD OF THE MOKaOL-GUna SI 

reached; — and such a voyage, — in a mere "tub," in inky darkness, a tempes- 
tuous winter's night, a threatening sky above and a gaping sea below, there 
must have been thrills for the bravest heart and need for the truest hand. 

The literature of the world has immortalized the daring fishermen who 
•'never returned" and on the storm bound East China coast it is sa'e to say 
that the toll to the sea is great and tragedies enacted in many hom^s as the 
ships go down. The events of the day described are not unlike those of many 
others, and the desperate struggle for existence manifested on this occasion 
come regularly to the fisherman's lot in the Formosa strait. As for ourselves, 
we prefer a first cabin la some monster liner with the comfort that it affords 
and the protection to life that it insures. 

The morning of the following day broke upon us bright and clear and our 
approach to the tropics was noticeable iu the warm, balmy air. The China 
coast was plainly visible and the sea as near to a perfect calm as the writer 
has ever seen it; and the fascination of it all was magnified by the presence of 
flying fish which, in immense schools, leaped out of the placid waters and fiew 
for long distances, their vari-colorc^d bodies sparkling in the bright rays of 
the sun. But with all the animation aboard ship none were more anxious or 
expectant than the Chinese in steerage quarters, two or three hundred of whom 
were returning to the homeland from America, and everything was being put 
in readiness for the arrival and landing at Hong Kong. For the most part 
they were laundrymen and laborers and the usual native costume was worn, 
including the cue But one part of the Chinese toilet had been neglected in 
America, the shaving of the head, and the native barbers did a thriving busi- 
ness. It is the Chinese custom to shave the fore part of the head and the way 
in which the barber goes about his task avoids the necessity of the expensive 
paraphanalia found in shops here at home The customer sits on the ground 
wherever he may be found and after the part to be shaved has been wet with 
clear water and the hair rubbed flat against the head the razor is put into ac- 
tion. We have never seen a customer complain of the treatment but have no 
curiosity to adopt the method for our own use. 

As we approached the mouth of the Canton river we came into a region un- 
like anything we have ever seen elsewhere Hundreds of great, cone-shaped 
rocks, absolutely barren, black with age and apparently smooth and free from 
soil, projected out of the water 'round about us. In shape resembling the half 
of an immersed q^^ and no less smooth the rocks presented an uncanny ap- 
pearance and might easily have been termed the Devil's Play Ground. The 
great number of these boulders, the uniformity in shape and the unusual 
character of their formation cannot fail to impress the visitor. 

For many miles the ship must wind its was among the rocks and in fog the 
passage is extremely dangerous. It was here that the '"Asia" struck some- 
thing over a year ago and sank with her cargo. No sooner had the crash come 
than hundreds of Chinese pirated appeared out of the fog and the ships oflScers 
were compelled to use their guns in order to remove the passengers to safety 
on the rocks. By the time this was done the pirates were boarding the vessel 
and the looting of the cargo began. The writer had passed through rot long 



LrlXD OF THE MOXG-Ol-Ohina 



before and only some peaceful looking' fishing- boats broke the monotony of 
the ghost like bouldei'S. The Chinjse coast has. since time immemorial, har- 
bored a population of pirates and the early histories of Japan. Formosa and 
The Philippines recite ceaseless plundering and atrocious brutality. In later 
years advanced civilization has held them in check and practically dispersed 
the bands. Today they are fishermen and upon a moments notice and a good 
opportunity they become the pirates as of old. In fog and storm they congre- 
gate in treacherous fields and await the crash that not infrequently comes and 
like the "Asia" presents them a prey. 



mKB OF THE MONaOL'-GUna 33 



CHAPTER XI 
IN THE LAND OF THE HAIKAIS 

As the ship swings around the precipitous cliffs and comes to anchor before 
the city of Hong Kong there is spread before the traveler a view which, in its 
sublime beauty, is not surpassed in a world tour. Words cannot describe the 
impressive grandeur of the mountain background clothed in green, stately 
foreign residences clinging tenaciously to its abrupt sides and reaching to its 
very crest, and no elaborate attempt will be made here to describe in detail 
the panorama as the tourist sees it. It is suflBcient to say that the harbor is 
known around the world and, among tourists, chiefly because of its pictur- 
esque setting and natural attractiveness. A cog railroad has been built to 
the mountain's top and wealthy foreign residents have erected fashionable 
homes at advantaeous points along the line and even at the very peak, so that 
the city is one succession of activity from the low-lying waterfront, with its 
docks and marts of trade, to the perpetually cool, wind-swept summit 2,000 
feet above the sea. 

Hong Kong, like Shanghai, is a British concession, but unlike the northern 
city, or, in fact, any other Oriental center the writer has visited, the British 
themselves, and their guests, seem actually to enjoy life, while the costly 
dwellings and artistic, well kept lawns re-enforce this conclusion. Elsewhere 
improvements are largely temporary in construction and the foreigner con- 
ducts himself in a "'oemporary" manner, with a wistful look across the sea, 
but in Hong Kong it is different. The city lies just within the tropics and is 
favored both geographically and topographically. The climate is invigorat- 
ing, free from extremes of temperature, and m inter is known in name only. 

The very mountain upon which the city is built produces an unlimited quan- 
tity of the finest granite and this product has been used lavishly by the Eng- 
lish in the construction of business blocks, adding not only to the beauty but 
to the impressiveness as well. But while the city is beautiful, it is more beau- 
tiful in the distant landscape, which does not reveal the distressing promin- 
ence of native occupation, and the tourist a mile away upon the ship's deck 
sees much to praise that is lost when he seeks a closer inspection. 

Hong Kong may be said to consist of three distinct stratas of civilization, 
and we have borrowed the term "strata", as used here, from our "precise ar- 
tist," who selects his words with simple sincerity and applies to them a de- 
finite interpretation. In the higher altitudes, toward the peak, we have the 
foreign section, principally English, and below these, on the waterfront, the 
typical Chinese city with its narrow, ill ventilated, grotesquely placarded 
streets and infected with that ever-present obnoxious odor, the product of 
poor sanitation and filthy quarters. This section embraces the business sec- 
tion with a liberal springling of French, Portuguese and Hindoos among the 
population, but it is practically Chinese and the upper Queen's Road, m the 
vicinity of and beyond Ladder street is painfully so. Below the section re- 
ferred to we have what our precise artist would call a "floating" population, 
made up of thousands of houseboats upon which families are born, live and 



34. MXD OF THE MOKaOL-CMna 

die, some of these, it is said, without ever having put their feet upon the land. 
The boats are small, not unusual in appearance and shov? little or no evidence 
of the purpose for which they are used. The houseboats, as well as others, 
usually meet the big steamers in the hopes of transporting passengers or bag- 
gage, and this, together with similar business picked up at random in the vi- 
cinity supplies the family needs. At first thought the condition does not seem 
so bad but when it is remembered that the steamship companies and hotel 
launches do the larger part of this and that the remainder is divided among the 
thousands of boats that infest the river, the extreme poverty that exists can 
be understood. 

On the occasion of the writer's first visit to Hong Kong he missed connec- 
tions with the ship company's launch and found it necessary to employ a 
native craft to take him ashore and he chose a houseboat for the purpose. The 
trip was uneventful except for the fact that the boatman attached the craft 
to a private launch that was just pulling out and the ride we got would make 
a wooden Indian sit up and take notice. When the steam launch had hit its 
gait our boat, with its square prow, was "hitting only the high places," and 
at this pace we continued for half a mile. The launch was now taking us out 
of our course and our boatman cut loose. The terrific pace at which we were 
going offered some real sensations when this was done and only the great skill 
of our boatman prevented a capsizing and perhaps more serious results. As 
it was, the boat cut-up like a bucking bronco and amidst a cloud of spray set- 
tled down to its normal pace. For real sensations this adventure has the 
"shoot the schutes" beat a city block. The Chinese are in the habit of attach- 
ing to launches when opportunities arise, but the writer has never since been 
a passenger when such a hair-raising gait was attained. 

At a later date, the writer spent a very interesting half-day on just such a 
houseboat on the Canton river. He had just come into Hong Kong on the 
British steamer Yuen Sang and, desiring to transfer his baggage to the Great 
Northern S. S. Minoesota, engaged a houseboat for the purpose. In order to 
learn more of the people and their life he decided to accompany the boat, and 
he did so, and for a half day assisted the Chinaman load and unload baggage 
and between times played with the junior member of the family, a bright little 
baby boy, much to the delight of the parents The youngster had but one 
plaything in sight, a large beer bottle, but at that he seemed better contented 
than many American children we know who have toys galore. The boat was, 
perhaps, 8x20 feet in size, boarded level across the top, except a small box- 
like depression in the center of the boat about four feet square, and grime and 
grease were prominently in evidence. In one end a trap door admitted to the 
small, ill-ventilated cavity in the body of the boat, 2 or 3 feet deep, and here 
were kept the food for the family and all the family possessions, including 
clothes and bedding, and here they slept at night with their faces toward the 
small opening. The family, in this case, consisted of father and mother, a 
boy about 10 years of age and the baby referred to. The first three named 
worked steadily at the oars and the "galley slave" was not more persistently 
"in the grind" than they. 



mXD OF THE MOKQOL-GMna 85 

The foregoing is a type of the home and home life of the millions of house- 
boatsmen in China, and the lot is certainly tragic enough. The rivers of the 
empire teem with just such life as this, as do the sheltered harbors, and the 
means of livlihood vary with the opportunities of the sectiors occupied. At 
evening these boats congregate near the shore and the sight is not to be for- 
gotten. Some family groups will be seated about a steaming pot, chopsticks in 
hand, partaking of the uninviting mixture; others will be preparing the even- 
ing meal over the familiar charcoal pot, while other families will be lounging 
in groups, often in animated conversation, the peculiar native pipe alvyays in 
evidence. Not infrequently the children will be chasing each other, hopping 
from boat to boat, scrambling over the improvised coverings provided in some 
cases, and often perilously near falling overboard, but little attention is paid 
to them and the number drowned in play will never be known. Often these 
river-folk are caught in storm, especially along the coasts, and destroyed by 
the hundreds and thousands. Only a few years ago a tidal wave caused by a 
typhoon caught and drowned ten thousand in Hong Kong harbor alone. 

Reference has already been made to the lower section of the city of Hong 
Kong, (Victoria), and no narrative touching the place would be complete with- 
out a more detailed description of the city and its people. The red turbans of 
the Sikas, the brawny Indian policemen, acd the glistening helmets of their 
British officers are apt to stand out prominently above the surging throngs 
that fill the streets and first to catch the eye of the approaching tourist, but 
once in the whirl of the city's babbling currents and the weirdness and the 
strangeness of it all pushes the belabored officers far from the visitor's thoughts 
and are remembered only when in need of dirf ction or assistance. 

Queen's Road, the main business thoroughfare, skirts the base of the moun- 
tain and penetrates the heart of the business district. On the one side there 
is a sharp downward slope to the water's edge; on the other an abrupt ascent 
up the mountain slope, through dingy native streets and beyond to the scat- 
tered private homes, and so steep are some of these streets that stone steps 
have been constructed and there is one ceaseless climb, step by step. Such a 
one is Ladder street, and for a quarter of a mile or more one flight of steps 
follows another at an angle of 40 or 45 degrees, and a journey either up or 
down becomes very monotonous as well as tiresome. These mountainous 
streets are unfit for the jinrikishas and sedan chairs have been pressed into 
service for the steep climbs. Today the 'rikishas attend to traffic along the 
waterfront, but they are greatly out-numbered by the chairs, which penetrate 
to the remote heights. It was here that the writer took his first ride in a se- 
dan chair. The sensation of riding in a rattan chair borne on the shoulders 
of two stalwart Chinamen was novel enough, but when the steep climbs came 
and especially the flights of stone steps, up which we were carried bodily and 
forced of necessity to crouch and hang desperately to the chair, there were 
thrills of which we had never dreamed and such pronounced thrills that we 
would heartily have enjoyed walking, instead. After the first trip the chair 
climbs become very ordinary and in a surprisingly short time lose their fasci- 
nation entirely. 

For three days we were guests of the American Board of Missions, and from 



36 L^IXD OF THE MOXaOL-'CUna 

our room in the mission headquarters well up the mountain side we could 
commmand a magnificent view of the lower city, the harbor, and the Chinese 
village beyond. From this elevated position we found much to interest in 
the view of the city below us, a picture touched to its fullest wioh colorings 
of native life, much of comedy, more of tragedy, — an absorbing study in Chin- 
ese social economics. But in the midst of it all there stands out vividly the 
figure of a man From dawn till dusk he labored on, bare of foot, scantily 
clad, unheard and unseen by the city's thousands. If our reader uses a cheap 
grade of tea he will naturally want to know more of the man, and we will ex- 
plain. The Chinaman referred to, and others, visit regularly the hotels and 
other public places in the city where they collect the tea grounds and carry 
them to the roof of some building engaged for the purpose. Here they are 
spread out and stirred patiently until thoroughly dry, when they are ready for 
the cartoons and later for shipment. The man referred to had a large quanti- 
ty spread upon the roofs below us and worked it diligently. Certainly those 
bare feet which waded through the mixture and the settling smoke from ad- 
joining buildings and dust from the streets above and below ought to give the 
tea a flavor not to be ignored. We were never able to learn whether ihis tea 
was sold to the Chinese poor or whether it was shipped to foreign lands for 
sale as an inferior grade. 

The traveler in China is constantly reminded of Japan by the large army of 
children bearing their younger brothers or sisters on their backs, but he is al- 
so reminded of this distinction, — in Japan this duty is borne jointly by boys 
and girls alike, while in China the task falls to the lot of the girls alone, this 
labor being below the dignity of Chinese boys. 

The shops of Hong Kong flourish in the usual native wares but fancy em- 
broidery and drawn work, unique footwear and rattan furniture predominate 
and the prices are remarkably low, Pongee silks are also carried in quanti- 
ties and can usually be purchased by the bolt at about SOcents per yard. 
There are also many Hindoo shops and the gaudy colored weaves and fablics 
from India are prominently displayed. 

The country districts out of Hong Kong, in their wretched poverty, are typi- 
cal of Chinese rural life and the squalid homes, barren of necessaries and un- 
clean, emphasize the need of that uplifting touch which Christian influence 
can bestow. So general has this distressing wretchedness become that it has 
left its blighting imprint on the temples themselves and to make the spots 
more ghastly has set in the temple courts wasted and decrepid men and wom- 
en, "the halt, the maimed and the blind," seeking alms, and even the young- 
sters of the community have been taught to turn somersaults and perform 
other acrobatic stunts for the coin which the sympathetic tourist-visitor may 
be induced to hand out. The writer visited a Conf uciusionist temple that em- 
phasized unmistakeably these conditions and likewise the deplorable status of 
a people whose faith finds expression only in service to graven and inanimate 
gods in whose power, superstition has taught them to believe, lay the pleasure 
of the elements and the fates of men. In the dingy temple we saw a simple 
altar upon which sat hideous images, candles were burning and a bleary eyed 
priest officiated. In the dust before the altar two mothers kneeled, and while 



L:^XD OF THE MOKaOL-GUna 37 

they shook a quantity of tiny sticks in a small receptacle which they held in 
their hands they implored the mercy of the gods. On two or three occasions 
the writer was asked to pray for the children but he could not bring himself to 
entreat the mercy of unfeeling stone and wood. 

This section of China is occupied chiefly by the Haikais and this dialect is 
spoken by most of the natives. The Chinese language as it exists today has 
this peculiarity, while the spoken language varies in different parts of the 
empire the same characters are used in writing all dialects and while many of 
the people can speak in only one dialect they all read the same language. The 
difference in pronunciation, inflection and emphasis, is responsible for the 
"Babel" of tongues 

Hong Kong is located on the island of Hong Kong in the Canton river and, 
next to Gibralter, is the strongest fortified point in the world. Its towering 
cliffs and rugged mountain slopes, extending oat to sea, contain masked bat- 
teries and missies of death beyond the power of human mind to conceive. No 
better natural protection in times of war conld be desired and England, in 
her cautious moods, has added all that nature left undone or could not do. 
The presence of these warlike environments is often brought more vividly to 
mind by the presence of monster battleships floating at anchor before the city's 
gates and not infrequently these war demons do not represent the prowess of 
England, alone, but float practically every national flag. The writer has seen 
on several occasions English, French, German and American cruisers or bat- 
tleships at anchor in the harbor of Hong Kong simultaneously, as he has at 
other Chinese and Japanese ports, and the occurrence is so common in the 
Far East as to create no comment at all. 

We have said that the cliffs overshadowing Hong Kong bristled with con- 
cealed batteries and we might as truly have said that they contained much 
more than guns and munitions of war for the Chinese have dwelt upon the 
mountain sides and in the valleys these hundreds, yea thousands, of years and 
they have made these rugged slopes the burying ground for their dead Yond- 
er jagged point, overlooking the Canton river from south of the city, is said, 
alone, to contain more than a thousand bodies and not infrequently the crumb- 
ling earth exposes some decaying form to view. But so densely peopled has 
China been for these unknown centuries that the disposition of the dead has 
become an aggravating problem, and such a situation as that noted above is 
of such frequent occurrence at various places in the empire as to escape serious 
attention, 

At the time of the writer's last visit to Hong Kong the Bubonic Plague was 
prevalent in its worst form at Kowloon, just across the river, and from three 
hundred to four hundred natives were dying daily, victims of the disease. By 
means of careful sanitation and the rigid enforcement of certain preventatives 
Hong Kong was keeping reasonably free from the plague, but was constantly 
being thrown into feverish excitement by the entrance into the city of Chin- 
ese from the stricken city. The writer remembers very distinctly an incident 
in this connection in which the plague stricken natives played a prominent 
part. It was the morning of his departure from Hong Kong. Failing in 



38 MXD OF THE MOmOL'-CUna 

his efforts to engage a sedan chair at the American Board of Missions, where 
he was stopping, he decided to walk down the mountain side to the wharf and, 
accordingly, started on his journey. Down in the city he came upon the pros- 
trate forms of several Chinamen, some of whom were lying across his path, 
while others lay near by. The chairs, which they had been carrying, lay near 
the bodies, and the writer's first t bought w^as that the men, fatigued by the 
night's toil, had fallen asleep in this unceremonious fashion. Picking his way 
among the bodies he continued his journey and was soon at the river's edge. 
He was not a little surprised and alarmed when informed that the men were 
victims of the bubonic plague. They had crossed over the river from Kowloon 
with their sedan chairs during the night, in an effort to secure employment, 
but death overtook them before the morning came. Rats, with which the 
empire is over ridden and which are preserved through native superstition, 
together with the filth in which the people live, breed and spread the disease 
and an active war on rats and dirt is the most effective safe-guard against the 
ravishing plague. But these sanitary precautions are difficult to enforce 
among the Chinese, and it is especially diflBcult to break down the bars of sup- 
erstition suflBciently to persuade them to exterminate the rodents whose pres- 
ence is deadly under these conditions. But a reverence for the germ laden rat 
has existed through countless ages aad the halo still survives. The disease 
works quickly, and after a few hours of the most intense suffering life passes 
out. Up to this time the plague has baffled the efforts of the most skilled and 
learned physicians, is contagious to a distressing degree and each year carries 
its thousands into eternity. 

The invasion of occidental civilization into Cliina has left its imprint upon 
the life of its people and, distressing as it is to relate, it cannot be denied that 
this influence, radiating, as it does, from so-called Christi-in nations, has nev- 
ertheless brought a large measure of disgrace upon our own and the people of 
Europe and in its contaminating effects upon the already over burdened people 
of China puts a serious impediment in the way of successful Christian effort, 
and this moral tone, combined with rank business practice, is largely respon- 
sible for the pronounced anti- foreign sentiment and, indirectly, for a large 
part of the feeling that incited the recent revolution. It is not the writer's 
purpose to discuss in detail here the results of alien contact, that topic, in- 
cluding a review of missionary conditions, having been reserved for the clos- 
ing feature of this series of travel notes, under the caption, "Observations 
and Deductions." What we do want to say now is that the contaminating 
touch of the "underworld"' has established dens of iniquity in the Far East 
that ought to make our people blush for shame and should be discountenanced 
rather than patronized by Americans abroad. Intoxicating liquors, the com- 
panions of vice, have not been forgotten and the foreigners, in their anxiety 
to establish a market for the stuff, advertise freely in the native press and a 
bottle with the brewer's label, is often the most conspicuous thing on the 
sheet. 

The consumption of cigarettes in China has grown by leaps and bounds dur- 
ing the last decade and today threatens to become a menace to the race second 



L;^XD OF THE MOMGOL-Ohina 39 



only to opium, Men, women and children, alike, use the weed and it is al- 
most unusual to see any of them without the familiar cigarette. The preval- 
ence of this practice, introduced and fostered by our own people, is in strik- 
ing contrast to America's activity in stamping out the opium traffic and has 
had the effect of crippling the British Asiatic traders in opium while multi- 
plying the fortunes of the American tobacco kings. 



40 mXD OF THE MOMGOL-China 



CHAPTER XII 
THE WAYS OF THE CHINESE 

Among the Chinese the science of tilling the soil is very primitive but not- 
withstanding this fact the Celestial Empire maintains a population of 400,000- 
000 people, and has continued to do so for much more than 3,000 years. Prac- 
tically no food is imported into China and by the labor of their own hands 
these millions must ]ive. 

The implements are home made, mostly of wood, and very crude. The plows 
of bible times are still in use, and the familiar ox is pressed into service where 
this luxury is available while in other instances the work is done by hand. 
Other farming implements include the hoe, the rake and the pick. The styles 
of these and the various uses to which they are put vary slightly in different 
parts of the empire but there is no material difference. Everywhere there is 
that tragic grind, that ceaseless drudgery, that painful struggle to maintain 
life, itself, and in the midst of this distressing poverty there is nothing so 
impressive as the melancholly setting itselt. 

Without doubt the valleys of China are the richest in the world and its 
people, by a system of crop rotation and fertilization carried down from gen- 
eration to generation, have been enabltd to produce yields per acre that would 
seem incredible. Irrigation is also practiced and, in the mountainous districts 
in particular has reached a very high state of proficiency, So pressing has 
the demand for land become because of the great number to be fed that the 
mountain slopes have betn terraced to the top, where this was possible, and 
luxuriant gardens grow one above the other, tier upon tier, and a prettier 
picture is seldom seen. Where irrigation is necessary water is raised to the 
mountain's top and allowed to desend from one terrace to the other, so that 
the same flow moistens all. In the Great Plains of North China the fields are so 
flat that water is made to flow with difficulty and the most primitive methods 
are employed to accomplish this result. The Old Testament passage which 
reads, "they water the fields with their feet," recurs to the traveler vividly, 
for this is what tbey do in China Three or four men leaning over a bamboo 
pole parallel with the ground, by means of a treadle motion with the feet, 
literally cause the water to flow, and in this position they labor all day long. 
Where the farmer can afford a water buffalo the animal is put to work in a 
thatched shed and g les wearily round and round all day. A piece of bamboo 
is put over the buffalo's eyes to prevent him from becoming sick. 

There are no wagons in China All that is carried is borne on the shoulders 
of men. A pole and two baskets do the work. The roads are foot paths, 
nothing more, and so narrow are they that two parties cannot pass unless one 
of them steps down into the field. These paths are also the fences dividing 
the fields and the farms A fence would be a needless expense and would oc- 
cupy ground very much needed in the fight for existence. There is no waste 
land, and the numerous irregular patches in the field corners of our American 
farms yield abundantly in China. The farm is always small, and the house, 
which is built in the center of the fields, is surrounded by a cluster of bamboos 
and trees. In the level plains country the farm homes, with their miniature 



L:^KD OF TEE MOJ^GOL-CMna 4/ 

groves dot the landscape with a confusion of isolated green and, alone, relieve 
the monotony of the unvarying plains. 

Rice is the chief product and is the staple food in China. According to the 
peculiar native custom, the rice is planted all together and the field flooded, 
When about eight inches high it is transplanted to proper distances. Other 
farm products are beans, cabbage, turnips, maize, millet, the mulberry and 
tea shrubs and corn. In the Celestial Kingdom the whistle of the thresher is 
unknown and harvest and threshing scenes there resemble very closely similar 
occasions in bible times. Not alone in this but in many things have the Chin- 
ese retained the customs of two thousand years ago and the traveler is contin- 
ually endeavoring to discover a reason for this lack of progress. After all, this 
condition should occasion little surprise, since a people who have from the 
beginning expended all available energy in providing the necessaries of life 
alone could hardly be expected to advance far into the realm of science or in- 
vention. Rice is beaten from the stalks by striking against the inner walls of 
the bin. The stalks are then thrown to one side for other use and the grain 
collected in hemp sacks, either for the market or for home consumption. In 
the maize growing regions of North China the flail is used. 

It has been said that ':necessity is the mother of invention" and certainly 
this is true in Cbina, Necessity, which has pursued the people relentlessly 
since the birth of time, has inaugurated a system of judicious economy that is 
alone responsible for the preservation of the empire and in the process of this 
perseverance many useful devices have been evolved that answer the primitive 
need and utilize the wastes of the fields. The stalk of the rice plant is used 
for thatching farm houses, for rain-coats and straw sandals, and is wound into 
ropes and woven into baskets. Gourds are used for vessels and for drinking 
cups in particular. The bamboo plant is eaten when young and tender; at a 
later stage it is used for window shades, fishing poles, baskets, ropes and for 
other uses where pliability is required; later still it is used in the construction 
of houses, for scaffolding, for chairs and furniture of all kinds, as well as 
drinking cupg, torches, fences, flower vases, drain pipes, flutes and vessels for 
various purposes. The housewife has no need for a washboard, the flat stones 
in the river's edge answer every need, and the same waters that cleanse the 
family washing, cleans the rice for the shopkeeper, furnishes the bath for the 
weary buffalo, the sv\ imming pool for the geese, washes the soiled furniture 
and continues in its course to be similarly used by others down the stream. 

But the Sime dire necessity that has driven the people to this rigid economy 
has led them in a course vitally effecting the welfare of the empire. In their 
need they have hewn down the forests indiscriminately, thereby decreasing 
the annual rainfall; the roots of plants and grass have even been grubbed out 
of the ground laying vast regions open to destructive sand storms which come 
with distressing regularity. If it were within our power to instuct some apt 
Chinese students in the principles of scientific agriculture and inspire them 
with a full understanding of the crying needs of their own people what a mar- 
velous transformation there would be. Reforestation, the sowing of grass on 
barren wastes, the introduction of new seed and improvements in the old and 
numerous reclamation enterprises wouldsbring in its wake an era of prosper- 
ity such as China has never seen. 



A2 MXD OF THE MOmOL-*GMna 

The American tourist will find nothing among the Chinese people more in- 
teresting than their peculiar customs, and these, unusual as they are, offer an 
absorbing topic for study. We stated in a previous chapter that the little 
people of Japan "did things differently," and now, after having introduced 
the reader briefly to a character sketch of the Chinese, we add, also, that they 
"do things differently" in China; and to those at home there is no more inter- 
esting or instructive manner of presenting these peculiarities that by putting 
them in contrast to our own American customs. 

The following references to Chinese manners and customs will impress upon 
the mind of the reader the striking contrast between the two people. 

The needle of our compass points to the north, while that of the 
Chinese points south. 

We read from left to right, horizontally; they read perpendicu- 
larly from right to left. 

Our children stand facing the teacher to recite their lessons, but 
Chinese children turn their backs to the teacher. 

We have standard weights and measures, their weights and meas- 
ures differ in each district. 

Americans win their own brides while the Chinese have theirs 
chosen by the parents through go-betweens. 

We eat with knives and forks; they with chopsticks. 
We blacken our shoes; they whiten their shoe soles. 
We write with a pen or pencil; they with a brush. 
We locate intellect in the brain; they locate it in the stomach. 
We divide the day into 24 hours; they into 13. 
Our given name precedes the surname; their's follow it. 
We think milk and butter almost indispensible; they use neither. 
In sewing we draw the needle toward us; they push at away from 
them. 

We take off our hats as a mark of respect; they keep theirs on. 
Our calendar is based on solar time; theirs on lunar time. 
We are taught to study in silence while they are taught to study 
aloud. 

With us the seat of honor is on the right; with them it is on the 
left. 

Here desserts are served at the close of the meal; there at the 
beginning. 
The boys and girls will be interested in the following contrast between the 
American and Chinese customs: 

We bake bread; they steam it. 

In rowing a boat we pull; they push. 

We keep to the right; they keep to the left. 

Our sign of mourning is black; their's is white. 

Our windows are made of glass; theirs of paper. 

We shake a friend's hand; they shake their own. 

Our language is alphabetic and theirs ideographic. 



L:^KB OF THE MOKQOL-'CUna 4S 

We consider the gift of a coffin too suggestive; they consider it 
most acceptable years before it is needed. 

Our watchmen quietly go their rounds with a view of catching 
thieves; theirs beat gongs and yell to frighten them away. 

We bury our dead a few days after death; they often keep theirs 
in the house in heavy sealed coffins for years. 

When our sons marry they set up a home of their own; when 
their sons marry they bring the bride to the parents' home, 

We cut our ifinger nails; they think it very aristocratic to have 
the nails from one to five inches long, often protecting them with 
silver or other metal sheaths. 



44 M.YD OF TEE MOXGOL-Pmiipine Islands 



CHAPTER XIII 
BEFO/iE THE GATES 

The early gray of the morning dawn revealed the placid waters of Manila 
Bay reaching out into the darkness about us. Not a sound disturbed the early 
morning watch, and the faintly flickering lights at the Cavite arsenal ten 
miles away gave the only indication of life beyond the zones of blackness that 
encompassed us about. As the light in the east became more perceptible the 
darkness lost it« intensity and huge, ghost like hulks appeared at sundry 
points about us, resolving with the fuller light into the outlines of freight and 
passenger boat* of various descriptions, floating lazily at anchor under tropic 
skies. To the eastward a dark, impenetrable mass reared itself phantom-like 
above the water line, and as the morning's dawn dispelled the hovering shad- 
ows there were discernible the outlines of moss-grown walls, massive and old, 
the mosque-like dome of the Catholic cathedral, beyond, towering imposingly 
above it all. Fort Santiago stood majestically on the waterfront, its aged, 
grey sides rising abruptly from the waters of the Pasig and the bay front alike 
and adding that warlike touch which befits every suggestion of strife that 
is revealed in the scarred and crumbling walls of which it is a part. 

We stood before the gat«s of the old walled city, a city of prominence in the 
tribal days before Spanish occupation and defended by walls built more than 
three centuries ago, a hundred years and more before the United States was 
breathed into existence. A few hours before the ''Taming,'' a British steamer 
upon which we were a passenger, had steamed in froipthe sea in the mid-night 
darkness, past the frowning walls of Corrigidor, to an advantageous position 
within the breakwater, outside the Sta. Lucian Gate. But the romantic sett- 
ing lost much of its attractiveness when word was passed that a strike had 
been declared upon the waterfront and that not a boat was moving on the 
bay. Under these conditions we could do nothing more than sit upon the 
sheltered deck and await as patiently as possible a developement in affairs 
that would enable us to leave the ship and our baggage transported to the 
customs house for inspection. The Taming had steamed out of Hong Kong, 
China a day ahead of schedule to avoid the Chinese New Year, which would 
have precipitated a strike among the Chinese of the crew; but as fate would 
have it, a strike greeted us at the Manila end of the journey, — the outgrowth 
of labor union troubles. 

There may be those who look upon Manila for the first time who see in 
the rugged outlines of this ancient city little to interest or attract, but to us 
it was not so. No spot in the Far East is so fertile in historical data and re- 
miniscence than Old Manila, and no where has more patriotic blood been spill- 
ed in hopeless revolution than in the immediate vicinity of Manila Bay. And 
so it was that we lifted oar eyes from the placid waters about us on this mem- 
erable morning to the blackened, moss-grown walls of the "Intramoros,*' read- 
ing in the scarred and Tvealhered sides the tragic story of unnumbered centur- 
ies of Malayan and Chinese invasion, Spanish domination and English con- 



L:^KD OF THE MOKaOL-PMllmne Islands 45 

quest; internal strife and American intervention, centuries of unrest, during 
all of which period the massive v^alls did their part well, but notwithstanding 
all that they have done and borne they stand today as unconquered sentinels; 
and could be made of inestimable service at the call of war. 

A few hours later we engaged a carromatta, (Fillipino two-wheeled buggy), 
and were driven by the Botanical Gardens to the Parian Gate, and at closer 
range were enabled to determine more defiaitely the character and condition 
of the walls, as well as the city itself, with its barred and bolted doors and 
grated windows and general military aspect. The writer would not have his 
readers infer that Manila is the only walled city in the East, or that the walls 
in themselves have inspired the article of which this is a part. Shanghai, Pe- 
kin, Tientsin, Canton, and other cities have their walls but with a well defin- 
ed purpose in view we have chosen to dwell at some length upon the environs 
of ancient Manila, believing it to be of more vital interest to our own people 
and feeling, as we do, that a picture from life will reveal not only a concrete 
knowledge of the place itself but the fact, as well, that the atmosphere per- 
vading in these centuries past has been one of strife and unequaled, perhaps, 
in the history of the world. No other spot has appealed to us as Old Manila 
has done, and we feel that we could look upon the place again with undimin- 
ished interest. As we approached the Parian Gate we beheld the moat, which 
encircles the m^s-sive walls on the outer side, and a moment later passed over 
the draw-bridge, through the heavy, dark archway and entered the confines 
of the ancient city, itself. We beheld a city crowded to the walls, as oriental 
cities are, with streets straight but depressingly narrow, and flanked from 
gate to gate with heavy, concrete buildings of the Spanish type, grated and 
barred as fortresses are. On the other side could be seen the dark gray walls 
as they encircled the city about, and the Santa Lucian Gate, looking out upon 
the Malecon Drive and the placid waters of the bay. Above the gates and the 
walls we saw the port holes and other items of defense becaliar to walkd cit- 
ies, but their antiquity and the evidence that peace, rather than war, had been 
the master in this new era was noticeable in the trees and shrubbery that 
have fastened their roots in the disintegrating rocks and stand alone as silent 
sentinels over this historic spot. 

In point of age the St. Augustine church, in the heart of the city, is entitled 
to honors, and after more than three hundred years of eventful history the 
building still stands, and the chiseled lions at the gate overlooking Palacio 
and Real have lost little of their impressiveness with the weathering of the 
years. The masses and other services peculiar to Catholicism are held in the 
old church daily and the dark robed St. Augustian friars are familiar figures 
about the premises. For some time the Methodist Publishing House, with 
which the writer was identified, fronted upon the church property and the 
peculiar muffled tones of the old bells, so often hea-'d, come to us now with 
that weirdness that they never failed to bring. Of the Catholic pries hood in 
the Phillipines the Augustian friars are the most powerful and numerous and 
for three centuries have wielded an inca^culab'e influence in the administra- 
tion of government. Today their force is felt, and to such and extent as to 



46 M^B OF THE MOMGOL-PMUipim Islands 

cast serious reflections upon the honor and integrity of certain administrative 
officers who have been and are now. in some instances, in the employ of our 
government. These are the friars, it will be remembered, with whom we had 
land troubles following the Spanish-American War and their influence has not 
greatly diminished. From the political viewpoint our government has found 
it convenient to work in harmony with the priesthood, because of the great 
influence it exerts over the masses as a result of its three hundred years of in- 
grafting, but undue influence in matters of government by any special inter- 
ests are resented here at home and ought to be abolished for the sake of Chris- 
tianity, if nothing else, in the islands. St. Augustine, the founder of this 
order of the priesthood, was a political offender in Spain and was sentenced to 
to be put to death or to be banished to a monastery in the Phillipine Islands 
for life, He chose the latter. Being a man of great energy and constructive- 
ness he soon threw himself at the head of a body of men similar to himself and 
in a surprisingly short time the church could boast of an order displaying tre- 
menduous energy, and awake, but with a spirituality that might be question- 
ed. Large holdings of land were acquired and from the crying poverty of the 
natives sufficient funds were exacted from tributes levied to build massive 
churches, each of which became the center of St. Augustian domination and 
taxation. The largest of these and St. Augustine's favorites, were the one to 
which we have jusi referred and the one at Guadalupe, which was larger and 
more elegant. The latter church, however, was wrecked by the Americans 
inJjattle during the war in the islands and the ruins, a few miles north of 
Manila, are visited by hundreds of tourists annually. 

The Catholic cathedral is another landmark in the Walled City that attracts 
many visitors. The old cathedral, scarred in battle and furrowed by time, is 
no more, but the new structure, a magniflcent building highly adorned, stands 
in its place. 

To the imaginative mind familiar with the history of the place the old city 
walls suggest many things. The gloomy dungeons in the heart of the walls 
themselves are not the least suggestive, and it requires only a reference to 
Spanish cruelty to imagine some of the tragedy tnat is linked with their exist- 
ence. Chinese pirates and plunders have stormed against the gates and made 
the streets red with blood. More than one of these, no doubt, has agonized in 
the blackness of the dungeon and wasted away until life had gone out. The 
flower of the British navy has trained its guns upon the battlements and in a 
series of splendided charges overthrown the Spanish regime, only to evacuate 
shortly afterward. In the course of this conflict how many Britishers were 
committed to these same vile pits, lu the course of three hundred hears of 
almost continuous revolution the number of Filipinos who forfeited their lives 
in the dungeons as the price of rebellion would probably be appalling if 
known. 



L:^KB OF THE MOmOL-PMlUpim Islands 47 

An imposing monument situated just outside the walls and overlooking the 
river Pasig was many years ago erected in memory of Magellan and is said by 
some to mark the site of the daring sailor's last resting place. On the island 
of Mactan, far to the southward, another monument has been reared upon the 
spot where Magellan met his tragic death, and here it is, best authorities de- 
clare, the remains of the bold explorer lay, Opinion is divided and none know 
of a certainty, perhaps, and no great moment could be attached to if they did. 
The history student will recall that Magellan was the first to circumnavigate 
he globe. This statement is true, with modifications. After rounding South 
America, through the strait that bears his name, Magellan sailed west by 
north and after many weeks came upon a group of strange islands. On one of 
these islands Magellan was killed in a battle with natives, and his followers 
continued the voyage alone. Some months later a mere handful of worn and 
weary adventurers landed again upon the shores of Spain, and their graphic 
recital of their island experiences brought to pass the Spanish occupation of 
the Phillipines. The Magellanes statue, therefore, rising high above the walls 
of Old Manila, may be interpreted as emblenaatical of the beginning of Span- 
ish reign and the beautiful memorial has seen much of the strife that marked 
the closing days of that era. On the faather side of the walled city, rising 
gracefully from the green of the Luneta, another statue may be seen, and this 
one stands decidedly as the emblem of Spanish downfall. It is the imposing 
figure of Jose Rizal, the Filipino patriot, who incited the rebellion which cul- 
minated in the overthrow of the Spanish regime and the ultimate occupation 
by the United States, In those trying days the breaking of morning very 
often revealed a squad of Spanish soldiery in Luneta park. The prisoners in 
their charge were arranged in a row and just as the morning's sun cast its 
first rays upon the peaceful waters of Manila Bay, the discharge of as many 
rifles drove death to as many hearts. In this manner and on the very spot 
where his monument now stands Jose Rizal was put to death. The cause of 
the zealous patriot was then at a low ebb and the unfortunate man, dying in 
the hands of his foes, and alone, could not have dreamed that his memory 
would live through the annals of time and that, triumphant, his image would 
rise above the blood-stained swards of the Luneta, hailed as the martyr and 
the liberator of his own beloved land. Today as the tourist stands upon the 
Luneta, so peaceful, and so beautiful by the seaside, it is hard to believe that 
the blood of martyrs, not one, nor a score, but actual hundreds, has stained 
the place and the dusky native, who knows too well, has not forgotten and 
only reference to Rizal is required to bring bring the glow of pride to the 
swarthy face. In the evening a gay throng crowds the Luneta, which is bril- 
liantly illuminated with electric lights, and the occasion is made the more 
pleasant by the band concert, which is a regular event. 

The military aspect of Manila is forcibly brought to the mind of the visitor 
by th« presence everywhere of American soldiers. These soldiers may be seen 
at drill, as they often are on Bagumbayan, or at leisure during the heated 
hours of the day and in the evening. More often they are stationed at Fort 
McKinley, an out-post located three or four miles out of the city, but quite 
often they occupy quarters within the city itself or at Cavite and many others 



48 L:iKD OF TEE MOmOL-PhiUipim Islands 

have been granted a few days leave of absence from service in the southern 
islands, either at frontier or police duty. A police system kno*vn as the Covl- 
stabulary, in which about twenty thousand natives have been enlisted, is in 
operation, under the direction of American soldiers delegated to this duty and 
it has proven to be a very efficient and effective organization. Many of the 
ranking officers in the army reside in Manila and these, with the more influ- 
ential officeholders, make up not only the more aristocratic but also the more 
influential social circles of the city. "Ginger Bread" conduct prevails to a re- 
markable degree and there is an actual attempt to pull off the finer ' 'stunts" 
of aristocratic society. How they can acvaken themselves from the depressing 
sultriness and tropic drowsiness sufficiently to "take notice," the writer is un- 
able to understand. Feminity with energy sufficient to promote real, live 
society in Manila would be the hit of the season, hands down, in Newport. 

Fort McKinley, to which reference has already been made, is situated about 
four miles out of Manila at the terminus of the electric street car line and is 
said to be the largest of its kind in the world. About four thousand soldiers 
are attached to the place and every modern and approved accessory to the 
modern fort has been installed. 

LTnder present conditions there is little for the soldiery to do, except to con- 
tinue his drills from day to day . The mass of the Filipino are not friendly, 
that is admitted, notwithstanding an occasional dissenting opinion by an in- 
dividual who should and, we believe, does know better, but our large stand- 
ing army in the islands, combined with the readiness with which we subdued 
the Spanish, hold them in check and disturbances are very rare except among 
the Moros. But, as has been said, the rank and file are not pleased and yield 
only because it is expedient that he do so. There are, of course, a small num- 
ber of Filipinos who have been appointed to positions of more or less respon- 
sponsibility who speak pleasantly of the "Americano," and there are a small 
percentage of others who, for one reason or another, express little dissatisfac- 
tion but, taken generally, the feeling is very bitter and may lead the Filipino 
in an unguarded moment to commit some folly that will take the form of a 
miniature revolution, A later chapter will treat more in detail of this sub- 
ject, as well as the conditions pertaining thereto.. 



li^KD OF TEE MOmOL-PMllipine Islands 49 



CHAPTER XIV 
MAN/LA 

What we have said touching Manila concerns the old walled city, alone, to- 
gether with some historical reminiscence that adds interest to the place, but it 
is well for the reader to bear in mind that there is a city of metropolitan pro- 
portions without the walls and that there is much in this "new city" that 
bears the stamp of the modern age. 

Manila is a city of some 350,000 people and one of the really important cent- 
ers in the Far East. The river Pasig divides the old city from the new and 
access from one to the other is fa&cilitated by two splendid bridges, viz,, the 
famous Bridge of Spain, a massive, concrete structure, and the fine Santa Cruz 
Bridge of steel. In 1898, at the time of American occupation, a system of 
poorly managed horse-cars furnished the only means of conveyance, aside 
from private vehicles, but our people have since discarded the old street cars, 
abolished the horse as a means of locomotion and installed a system of splen- 
did electric cars, which extend to all parts of the city and outlying suburbs. 
Each of the bridges named supports a car line track and in the cooler hours of 
the evening the congestion of traffic, made up of foot passengers, carromatas, 
victorias, cartellas, caribou carts, an occasional mounted cavalryman and the 
electric motor cars, is not soon to be forgotten. 

The Escolta is the main business street of the new city and in comparison 
with the oriental aspect of the remainder of the place is quite modern. It is 
only so by comparison, however, as many American towns of from 3,000 to 
5,000 population can easily surpass the Escolta. The street is wretchedly nar- 
row, despairingly crooked and a good majority of its business men speak Span- 
ish fluently and English so brokenly that a vivid imagination and an acute ear 
are required to do business at al'. There are also a liberal sprinkling of Chin- 
ese and Hindoo merchants, and a few Americans who almost invariably main- 
tain an enterprising and up to date business establishment. At the Santa 
Cruz end of the Escolta the Echague begins. This short street contains a 
few enterprising firms but is made up largely of cheap restaurants and dives, 
with a weakness in favor of the latter. The opposite end of the Escolta leads 
into the Rosario, and a visit to this street is worth the tourist's time, no mat- 
ter how widely he may have traveled or hovv conversant he may be with the 
merchandising methods of the Chinese. The Rosario contains an endless suc- 
cession of Chinese booths, each stocked to its capacity with some particular 
line of merchandise. It may be mattings, of \^hich they have a wide variety 
at remarkably low prices; it may be umbrellas in equal variety; it may be 
bolt goods of certain textures or it may be any one of many other lines. In 
every booth the Chinaman is at your service, but unless you have acquired a 
fluent use of ''Pig-English" you are not apt to make much headway in your 
business dealings. Everywhere you go in Manila you meet the Chinese shop- 
keeper. Very often his quarters consist of nothing more than an improvised 
bamboo booth with a few vegetables, a few stunted bananas, some mangoes 



50 mXB OF THE MOXaOL-PMllipine Islands 

in season, oranges, eggs, coal oil and a few sundries, but the shop is always 
located on a frequented path and there is usually a liberal patronage, notwith- 
standing a depressing odor that invariably clings to the place and other evi- 
dences of uncleanness, As a rule, the Filipino is a poor merchant and the Chi- 
namen has become to the orient what the Jew is to the Occident. 

The visitor to Manila is apt to take away with him two distinct impressions 
one of which is a mental picture of the "nipa" hut, that bamboo cottage with 
nipa thatched roof, usually built on piles from four to six feet above the 
ground, — the most striking and characteristic thing in the Phiilipines; and the 
other is a picture of the most acute poverty with which the rank and file of 
Manilaus are afflicted. It would be an unusual person, indeed, who could vis- 
* it the Phiilipines' capitol and at the same time avoid the vivid impressions 
which these conditions incite. Coming down from the cooler latitudes of the 
north where the less substantial architecture of the tropics is unknown, or 
rare at the the best, the traveler is hardly prepared for this wilderness of nipa 
and bamboo homes, and his wonder grows as he moves about the metropolis 
only to find the number intensified. In the rural sections of Japan and in the 
more primitive villages the hay-thatched roof is familiar, indeed, but the flim- 
sy structures of the Phiilipines are practically unknown. The thatched hous- 
es and even houses made almost entirely of hay and rica fibre are numerous 
throughout China, but they are more substantially constructed and seldom if 
ever seen in the more frequented centers. Even the rudely constructed stone 
hovels of China present an air of security and ''hominess" foreign to the "ni- 
pa." To the foreigner the nipa hut is unique, The timbers are almost invar- 
iably of bamboo, maoy of the poles being as mush as five or six inches in di- 
ameter; the waUs are of "swallie," a coarse matting-like weave; the floor is 
of split bamboo, a wide crack separating the narrow strips; split nipa leaves, 
thatched, compose the roof; the windows are very large, often contain shells 
to admit light and usually slide to open or close. Others are attached at the 
top and swing out from the bottom, being propped to the desired position. 
The piles upon which it is built serve a dual purpose as they lift the structure 
up into a freer draught of air, which is appreciated in the sweltering tropics, 
and they also keep the living quarters well above the waters during the rainy 
seasons. Wooden stairs furnish access to the more comfortable nipas but the 
simpler ones can boast nothing more than a rough ladder, also made of bam- 
boo. A split bamboo fence usually encloses the home, or at least along the 
street front. This is true in Manila but seldom observed in the barrios, (vill- 
ages,) With few exceptions the entire residence district of Manila is made up 
of these flimsy structures and when a typhoon appears, as it often does, many 
of them are prostrated before the slorm. In their black, weather-s'ained con- 
dition, with the spectacular patches that many of them possess, the view is 
not soon to be forgotten. In the more popular residence sections of Ermita, 
Nozaleda, Paco, Malate, and others, frame buildings, also on piles, with iron 
roofs, have been erected and are much preferred by Americans as homes, al- 
though hardly so cool as the nipa. The writer made his home in nipa huts 
during his residence in Manila and was master of the situation at all timeg 



mKD OF TEE MOmOL-PMUipine Islands 51 

when the ants were not, For a furnished four room nipa in the Malate district 
he paid 50 pesos, ($25.00), per month; but the house had electric lights, was 
equipped with city water and with a shower bath. 

The visitor to the Far East is impressed with the uniform poverty that pre- 
vails, — a type of poverty which, in extent and severity, does not exist in Am- 
erica and which our readers cannot know without first having seen. There 
are, of course, in our midst an occasional home in need and the tenements of 
our cities hold many to whom the cry for bread is no strange sound, but a 
nation of poor we do not know and God forbid that it shall come to us as 
it has to the nations of the Orient. 

In this regard the Phillipines are no exception and Manila, in particular, 
has her thousands of poor to whom the tragedies of life are linked insepar- 
ably with the struggle for existence itself. In Tondo is this condition indis- 
putably shown and it must be a heart of steel that sees and turns away un- 
moved. The weather-stained nipas, — wrecked by age and storm, propped and 
patched and barren of the dire necessities, — tell the story in themselves and 
no further observation is needed to establish the truth of the statement we 
have made. Not in Tondo, alone, but throughout the whole of Manila is pov- 
erty manifest and to such and extent that few of us can realize. A white- 
haired man, wasted and bent with the years, sat by the street from early 
morning until the darkness of night had come, with but a few cheap candles 
to sell. By his side a gray haired woman sat, decrepid and old, with a few 
strange viands in the tray at her feet, and when we came that way at night- 
fall we could not see that her tiny store had diminished materially through 
the long hot day and felt that this, like many other days, had yielded little 
with which to sustain soul and body. The wrieer has seen such pictures as 
this unfolded from day to day; he has seen, as every other visitor to Manila 
has seen, the hundreds of venders that wait by the market-place, and else- 
where, eager to sell their tiny stores and who, being in numbers entirely out 
of proportion to the populace, find the buyers few, indeed; he has seen others, 
infirm, and to all appearances alone in the world, with no means of livlihood 
and dependent wholly for sustenance upon foraged fruits and vegetables, 
homeless, and with no place to lay their heads that they could call their own. 
In such a place charity has not been systematized and with the limited means 
the people command is not strongly in evidence. 

Nothing illustrates more forcibly the uniform prevalence of poverty than 
the fact that a large family is sustained, clothed and fed, for a few paltry pe- 
sos per month. A first-class servant, with family, costs from 15 to 20 pesos 
per month, ($7.50 to $10 00,) Living quarters are provided but all other expen- 
ses of the family, food, fuel, clothing, etc,, must be met from this sum and 
there are many families in Manila that cannot claim even this volumn of re- 
venue to sustain them, 

But, as we have said, Manila represents but a type of the poverty that per- 
vades the Far East and the tourist in India, in China and, to a large degree, 
in Japan, will find the same distressing conditions to prevail. 

Perhaps the most pathetic condition of home life lies in the prevalence of 
disease and the inability of the Filipino to combat it. Sanitary conditions, in 



52 MJ{D OF THE MOXaOL-PMUipine Islands 

the main, are bad, — very bad, — and death lurks everywhere. The native is 
not strong and his weakened body is susceptible to the disease germs that 
come in the v^ater he drinks, that occupy the broken surface of the fruits 
he eats, that effect the vegetables that mature upon the ground in their fields. 
There is also the danger of contagion in the densely peopled sections they oc- 
cupy and at the writer's visit cholera, the fatal forms of smallpox, malarial 
and typhoid conditions and various other messengers of death stalked in their 
midst, to say nothing of tuberculosis, with which more than seventy-five per 
cent of the people are effected to some degree. 

Manila is situated four feet above the sea and with the intense heat of the 
tropics the climate is not only depressing but enervating and the greatest care 
is needed to preserve health, The average Filipioo knows nothing of sanita- 
tion and his home is often as unsanitary as it could well be. Chickens and 
goats and even hogs mingle leisurely in his yard and sleep under his house at 
night. No care is taken in the preparation of foods to destroy germs and 
drinking water is not infrequently repulsive and impure. In Manila fifty -five 
of every one hundred children born die under one year of age and the mortal- 
ity rate beyond that age is surprisingly large. 

The statement is quite often made that Manila is not unhealthful, but this 
statement is true only under certain conditions. A very large percentage of 
the death rate is due to ignorance of and disregard to the laws of healtn, but 
notwithstanding this fact it cannot be truthfully said that Manila is health- 
ful. The writer has known some Americans who have lived in the city from 
two to ten years and who had evidently retained their normal health; but he 
has never seen a place where even the most loyal citizens practiced and em- 
phasized the most rigid observance of sanitary rules and who believed these 
things absolutely ei-sential to preserve themselves. It is also regarded as nec- 
essary to spend a few weeks during the hot season of each year, (and they're 
all hot), in the mountains near Bagio, or in China, Japan or the United States 
and no locality that requires this climatic change can claim an over-abun- 
dance of the health giving properties. 

The visitor to Manila will find an unusual burying ground if he cares to in- 
spect the concrete semi-circular structure in the Paco section. Here for cen- 
turies the caskets of the dead have been placed io compartments prepared for 
such purposes and for the privilege of which relatives of the deceased paid a 
fixed rental from year to year, The charges varied according to location and 
conveniences and the corpse usually given the best the relatives could af- 
ford. Very often it happened that misfortune visited the survivors, crippling 
them seriously in meeting their rentals. Not infrequently the corpse was 
moved from time to time to cheaper quarters and fiaally, failing to meet the 
rent altogether, the skeleton was thrown out to join the big heap of human 
bones, which testify to the delinquency of their posterity. The place is not so 
liberally patronized today as it has been in the past and will soon be but an 
historical landmark. 

What has already been said concerning Manila introduces very appropriate- 
ly the presentation of some thoughts relative to life in the Phillipines that 
may interest our readers. 



Li^MD OF THE MOmOL-FMllipme Islands 58 

Taken as a whole, we make the introductory statement that life under the 
peculiar tropic conditions that prevail is not pleasant and in the judgement of 
the writer the islands will never become popular as the permanent home-place 
of our people, although exploitation will go forward and corporate greed will 
continue to thrive on such vegetable and mineral wealth as the land may be 
made to produce. Not a few Americans residing in Manila and the provincial 
outposts endeavor strenuously to impress the stranger otherwise, but a closer 
acquaintance and a more intimate knowledge of the foreign pulse reveal the 
fact that they are serving a lease of time, as it were, that they look forward 
enthusiastically, even feverishly, to the time when they can quit their tropic 
bungalow, and through sheer force of temperament have, for the moment, be- 
come reconciled to an inevitable circumstance. Perhaps as much as ten per 
cent of our people really accept the islands as their permanent residence with 
a good measure of grace and even these usually abandon their fixed purpose, 
and in due time return to the "States." 

The nipa hut, the more common living place, has already been described, 
but we neglected to state that several thousand large red ants occupy the 
premises and that a liberal use af coal oil is essential to make the p^ace habit- 
able. Every two or three days, at the most, the house boy rubs the floor thor- 
oughly with a cloth which has been saturated with coal oil and this repeated 
operation usually keeps the insects in their hiding places. The kitchen safe 
and cabinets are set in cans containing water as an additional precaution, 
White ants are also numerous and these are particularly destructive to woods 
used in heavy foundation work. The lizard is a reptile very familiar to the 
housewife in the Phillipines. They are large, brown, healthy looking fellows 
and may be seen on the walls and ceilings almost any hour of day or night in 
various numbers. These, with the toads, which are also quite numerous, give 
the premises a real tropical setting but are usually disastrous to the house- 
wife's frame of mind and not altogether conducive to real contentment. In 
the housas of the Spanish and more modern types rats are also frequent visit- 
ors and these, with the monster, blood-thirsty mosquitos with which the is- 
lands are blessed (?), make the Phillipines an ideal (?) living place. 

Strange as it may seem, there are no flies in the Phillipines. The supposi- 
tion is that the great army of liz -rds and toads destroy them as fast as they 
appear and in so doing practically exterminate the pest. The houses have no 
screens, although all beds are enclosed in nets to keep out mosquitos during 
sleeping hours. It is a real delight in those latitudes to neglect in some way 
to c ose the net carefully on retiring and in this way admit one or more of the 
f amifching mosquitos. A pair of the creatures will furnish entertainment the 
whole night long and give their victim a merry chase every time he declares 
war and starts in search of his assailants. In searching for the lonesome pair 
he usually admits a dozen more and the bombardment is renewed with increas- 
ed severity, The sleight in retiring consists in making a headlong dive at the 
"psychological" moment, reaching the bed and tucking the nets closely before 
the ever watchful mosquito has seen his opportunity. The tropical mosquitos 
are actually poisonous and do much to spread malarial and other disease germs 

Perhaps the most disagreeable ft ature of life in the Phillipines lies in the 



5 A MXD OF TEE MOXaOL-Phillipim Islands 

fact that one at rest must shun the breeze if he would preserve his health; es- 
pecially is this true in the evening hours, It is enough to do this under more 
favorable conditions but in a land v\here the heat is so intense and the atmos- 
phere so depressing it becomes torture. Just why the air should be injurious 
we do not know but we do know that its injurious effects are recognized by 
the most "seasoned" and best informed and the shutters closed or hung in 
such a manner as to divert the draught. The writer's attention was first call- 
ed to this matter by the hotel proprietor with whom he was stopping in Hong 
Kong, China and he found the precaution observed throughout the tropics. 

The food problem is a seriovs one for Americans in the Phillipines. Practi- 
cally all food is bought in cans and the can program becomes very monoton- 
onous indeed. This does not apply to army provisions, which are shipped, re- 
frigerated, for this particular purpose, nor to those employees in the govern- 
ment service who draw rations under army regulations, but it does apply to 
all who are denied this privilege. The experienced resident or the one hav- 
ing in his employ a careful, trusted servant who is competent to select at the 
native market or booth has a decided advantage and can find for his table 
some fruits and vegetables fit for food but strangers usually prefer the canned 
article with its assurance of freedom from germs. Outside of Manila, where 
distilled water is available, all drinking water Is boiled as a precaution. Such 
fresh meat as is available, aside from fish, is shipped from Australia and is a 
"tough" proposition. 

Perhaps some mention should be made of the native markets, which are such 
prominent factors in the feeding of the city's thousands. All manners of fruits 
and vegetables, as well as fish and various articles of merchandise are offered 
for sale and a noisy, crowding throng fills the place in buying hours. Here 
native poverty is again emphasized by the buyer who asks for one centavo's, 
(Kc), worth of oil or perchance a single potato or a small tomato or two. The 
average market is poorly kept and the odor that greets the visitor often de- 
stroys any appetite he may have possessed. 



L:^KD OF THE MOMaOL-PhiUipine Islands 55 



CHAPTER XV 
FACTS AND FANCIES 

The Phillipine Islands occupy a conspicuous position ofE the southeast front 
of Asia and since time immemorial have figured prominently in the volcanic 
unrest of that section, much of the time as the prey of Chinese pirates and 
plunderers. The group is made up of about twelve hundred islands, the larg- 
est and most important of which is Luzon, and the entire population is esti- 
mated at about eight million. This population is made up of numerous tribes 
with separate dialects or languages and it may be said consistently that every 
stage of civilization from the savagery of Mindanao and Sulu to the refine- 
ment and intelligence of the Ilocaaos and Tagalogs is represented. The Ta- 
galogs, who occupy tSie city of Manila and its vicinity, are the most numerous 
and influential and representatives of this tribe occupy many positions of trust 
in political and commercial circles. From every viewpoint, however, the writ- 
er found the Ilocano to measure more nearly to his standard of requirements 
and in them he found many characteristics to admire. The Pampangas, Pan- 
gasinanes and Ibanags are other tribes of prominence and influence. The Mo- 
res and Sulus occupy the lowest rung of the ladder and while a few have made 
some material advancement under the tutelage of Uncle Sam the rank and file 
still revel in savagery and will accomplish little in this generation. The writ- 
er has seen no other human beings in which the animal instinct was so prom- 
inently displayed, while the very facial expression revealed the barbarians 
that they were. He remembers vividly an occasion in which a degenerate 
Moro explained to him, by means of weird gestures, the use of a certain heavy 
hand- forged knife which he, (the writer), was inspecting in one of their bam- 
boo huts. In his excited way the savage lay the sharp blade across his neck 
and in a few quick, frenzied movements explained to our satisfaction that the 
wicked looking weapon was used in the beheading of men. There was a strange 
light in that inhuman face and a flash of cruelty in the those expressive eyes 
that told us he knew whereof he spoke and that he was himself capable of do- 
ing the work "to a French brown," The native had no doubt been a cannibal 
and was probably speaking from actual experience. The Igorrotes, (the man 
eaters of Luzon), are known internationally for their savagery and cannibal 
instincts but they have abandoned many of their savage practices and are in a 
way to accept elementary instruction in real civilization. But with the gen- 
uine savage of mature years no great advancement can be made and it is left 
for the coming generation, many of whom are in the schools of the provinces, 
to show positive results for the expenditures that are being made in their be- 
half. 

Much has been said regarding the Fillipino character and the ability of the 
masses to govern themselves, and these opinions have been widely at variance 
one with the other. Many of these opinions have come from those who saw 
service in the regular army while others come from teachers and others in the 
government employ. Personally, we do not believe that the soldier is afforded 



56 mMD OF THE MOmOL-PMllipine Islands 

a proper opportunity to become informed upon this important question, no 
matter how conscientiously he may strive or how competent he may be. His 
military duties demand rigid attention and hold him at his post the greater 
part of the time. In events of disturbance he sees only the volcanic element 
and the very fact that he wears a military uniform makes him at all times an 
object of contempt and distrust by the rank and file, He sees little of the true 
native character in its unprejudiced light and is apt to misconstrue the uneiv- 
ility accorded him. The teacher is by far the most competent to judge and, 
when seeing through an unprejudiced eye, ought to speak with some author- 
ity. The writer does not claim to possess any inflallible thoughts upon the 
subject, but he does have some well defined ideas regarding the same, based 
upon such knowledge as the management of half a hundred men representing 
the foremost tribes would bring, and these suggest themselves in this form, 
First, that the chief obstacle in the way of self-government lies in the want 
of a common language, although the Chinese and the Japanese, to some ex- 
tent, are similarly handicapped; Second, that the intelligence and strength of 
character of the average Fillipino is usually very much underestimated and. 
Third, that American financial interests, together with the need of an un- 
hampered Asiatic naval base are the "real" reasons why this liberty is not ac- 
corded them. "American interests" are the most effective obstacles and will 
be discussed at some length in a succeeding chapter. Just now it is sufficient to 
say that many of the natives are highly educated and possess administrative 
powers that meet the test of such responsibilities as are thrust upon them. 
Some of the judges of the Supreme Court are Fillipinos, while others occupy 
positions of lesser moment, and almost invariably they make good. In Manila 
they do some of the most difficult work in the big banks and other business in- 
stitutions and so far as we were able to learn did it accurately and with dis- 
patch. When we left the islands our Letter of Credit was executed by a na- 
tive Fillipino of the International Banking Corporation, and the splendid pen- 
manship, as well as the careful business detail observed in tbe preparation of 
the document gave no indication of the primitive savage. The court records 
show that a much larger percentage of American officers and employees are 
found guilty of embezzlement and misappropriations than Fillipinos, consider- 
ing the number of both employed, and the same ratio prevails among the in- 
mates of Bilibid prison, (penitentiary). 

The real Fillipinos, the civilized tribes, recognize as well as we the savage 
condition of their Moro, Sulu, Igorrote and Negrito brethren and would, no 
doubt, be capable of maintaining a satisfactory territorial government in 
those parts until greater liberty could be allowed, Moreover, Spanish is suffi- 
ciently read and spoken to meet immediate governmental needs. 

The average American speaks despairingly of the Fillipino but a very short 
residence in the islands reveals the fact that we have the race problem over 
again and that much of the feeling that manifests itself can be explained on 
no other grounds. That disposition to minimize the motives and well-mean- 
ing of the darker- skinned prevails in the Phillipines and is to blame for many 
degratory reports that come to us. It is discouraging to see the American 



mND OF THE MOmOL'PMlUpine Islands 57 

who has just arrived in the islands apply the "nigger" epithet and otherwise 
assume at the outset a decided opinion without first having given the native 
an opportunity to make good. We were told repeatedly that the natives were 
deceptive, that they were indolent, would steal and were grossly immoral, 
We found this to be true in part but we also discovered long ago that some 
Americans need watching. We saw some evidences of immorality but many 
more instances where the American was making unwarranted advances under 
the most revolting circumstances, and are persuaded that these same offenders 
did what they could to stain the Fillipino character when they returned home, 

The writer prides himself justly on being an American, as all Americans 
should, but he does not believe it is un-American to criticize where criti- 
cism is due and he believes further that many Americans conduct themselves 
abroad, and occasionally at home, in a manner decidedly out of harmony with 
the spirit of American institutions. In the Phillipines we are in the "other 
man's country," (supposedly), and should govern our deportment accordingly 
without drawing about us the self-righteous robes of the Pharisee, assuming 
as well as demanding virtues that we do not possess. 

The surface of the Phillipines is broken by low lying mountain ranges 
which divide extensive and fertile valleys. The ranges contain many forests, 
and produce an abundance of valuable woods, some of which are even now be- 
ing used for manufacturing purposes, The red nara is probably the best 
known and most highly valued of these and is surpassed in beauty and service- 
ability by no other other wood produced today, mahogany not excepted. The 
absence of railway facilities, however, as well as of roads and suitable beasts 
of burden make it practically impossible to market the timber with profit and 
vast areas of forests remain untouched. 

The soil of the Phillipine Islands is fertile and, under other climatic condi- 
tions, would produce unmeasured wealth. As it is, a comparatively small 
area is carefully tilled, much more receives indifferent attention and many 
thousands of acres remain untouched and non-producing. This condition of 
affairs is due chiefiy to a scarcity of water buffaloes, used in all farm work, 
and to that lack of industry peculiar to the people of all tropic countries. It 
may be said in further explanation that the lack of encouragement offered by 
the arbitrary rule of Spain for three centuries was at no time conducive to a 
healthy developement of the island resources and the present generation, born 
and reared in an atmosphere of revolution surrounding the closing days of 
Spanish rule, has never fully recovered from the effects, and may not in their 
own generation cast this restlessness aside and take up the responsibilities of 
their stations to the fullest extent. But the dearth of caribous, (water buffa- 
loes), is the great obstacle and is a serious one. The animals have died rapid- 
ly during the last few years and the extreme poverty of the people prevents 
them from repurchasing, in many cases. The disease is caused by a rinder- 
pest and, so far, has baffled the efforts that have been made to check it. Ex- 
periments are being made in an effort to find some draft animal which can 
withstand climatic conditions but so far without avail. We might say in this 
connection that American cattle are very short-lived in the islands and an at- 
tempt is being made to discover a milk animal of some species that is adapted 



58 mXD OF TEE MOXaOL-PMllipine Islands 

to the place. At the time of the writer's residence there experiments were be- 
ing' made with "Singapore'' cattle from southern Asia. The climate is disas- 
trous to American horses and the best animals seldom survive more than five 
years. Many fiae horses are shipped to the islands for army use but in from 
two to five years the hoofs loosen and the animal is shot. 

One of the largest and most productive agricultural sections lies in the val- 
ley of the Cagayan, at the northern extremity of Luzon, and here many thous- 
ands of acres of tobacco are produced annually. A drastic law enacted under 
ihe Siranish regime iu the interest of the government monopoly resulted in the 
T\ hole valley beiug planted to the weed and the custom has continued largely 
since that time. The soil would produce an abundance of much needed food 
stuff if planted to cereals and an effort should be made to discourage tobacco 
culture v\ilh this object in mind. Another rich plain lies in the western half 
of Luzon uud extends from Lingayan on the north coast to Manila Bay. Rice, 
and coff'^e, with some Indian corn and cotton, constitute the chief products, 
and jeady market for these is found in Manila. American capital has built a 
railroad through this region from Manila to Dagupan, the only line in the ar- 
chipelago, and a good business has developed. There is also an adequate boat 
service and these also are well patronized. A steam launch trailing from four 
to six cascos, (native houseboat-freighters), is a familiar sight on the Pasig riv- 
er and furnish employment for many families. These cascos are unique in 
design and construction and while providing cramped living quarters for the 
family at one end has considerable room for cargo at the other. A matting- 
like roof, hooped "prairie schooner style," adds to the peculiarity of the 
make-up. 

Other sections of the Phillipines contain vast areas of fertile plains and 
good crops are produced where cultivated. The chief product is rice, follow- 
ed in importance by sugar and hemp. Most varieties of tropical fruits grow 
luxuriantly and do much to relieve the embarrassment which extreme pover- 
ty would otherwise produce. 

Agricultural implements are few and such of modern type as are in use have 
been imported by American promoters. The native implements are rude and 
resemble those iu use in ancient times. The plow is usually of wood and oth- 
er means of cultivation are equally out of date. Much of the work is done by 
hand. The Igorrotes, cannibals inhabiting the mountain districts in Luzon, 
are an exception to the usual ru.e in that they are splendid agriculturalists, 
and by their skill in terracing the rugged mountain sides as well as devising 
adequate irrigation, have produced enormous yields where their less indus- 
trious brethren of the plains would have failed. 

There are three seasons in the Phillipines, viz.. the wet. the dry and the cool 
seasons. In reality, there is little variation in temperature the year 'round 
and the cool season is largely a mis-nomer. The annual rainfall is about 100 
inches per year, varying from S4 to 114 inches, and falls in the course of four 
or five months. 

We have already expressed the opinion that under more favorable climatic 
conditions the islands would produce immense wealth, and there is no room to 
doubt this assertion. There is every reason to believe, however, that the con- 



L:flKD OF THE MOXQOL-PMlUpine Islands 59 



ditions which do prevail will stand as an obstacle in the way of any high state 
of development. The world has never produced an aggressive, thrifty, pros- 
perous people in tropic latitudes and probably never will. The average Filli- 
pino is averse to physical exertion and the American, after a brief residence 
under the tropic sun, takes on the same indolence. As we have already ex- 
plained, Manila is but four feet above the sea, and vast areas of the archipela- 
go are no higher. As a matter of course, therefore, the air is very humid and 
enervating, and it is not surprising that the native whose diet consists almost 
wholly of fruit and fish, and a limited quantity of these, should be lacking in 
that snap and energy so characteristic of temperate latitudes. This absence 
of energy is peculiar to tropical regions of all countries and has been so in all 
periods of history. The people who have been born and reared under tropic 
skies and whose very constitution has been permeated with the enervating 
efEects are rather to be pitied than criticized and no thrifty or powerful com- 
monwealth can be erected upon such a foundation without inaugarating a 
practical state of slavery. 



60 mXB OF THE MOJ^aOL-PMllipine Islands 



CHAPTER XVI 
UNRELENTING FATE 

A large measure of the poverty that prevails in the Phillipines is due prim- 
arily to that absence of aggressiveness and industry to which we have just re- 
ferred; and these conditions, as has been explained, are due largely to the 
enervating and debilitating effects of the tropics. Co-ordinate with this and 
a factor of no small importance, is the fact that in such latitudes the actual 
necessities of life are few and the ease with which fish and fruits and certain 
native herbs may be procured is the worst incentive to indolence and indifEer- 
ence. But we repeat again that our own people are not immune from the ef- 
fects of the tropic sun and soon lose that characteristic energy which has en- 
abled them to conquer the forests and deserts of America, It is a conceded 
fact that Americans are unfit to perform arduous physical work in the Philli- 
pines, and it is an evident fact to the observer that the "coolie" is the only 
one who does much of it there. 

But the Fillipino is more aggressive than we are often led to believe and 
often are comparatively well to do He may have extensive acres, thrifty in 
fields and carefully tilled, He may have these and more and his neighbor 
may have the same. Thrifty communities are not uncommon in the fertile 
valleys of Luzon. But tomorrow the dreaded typhoon may come, and in its 
path there is devastion and ruin as there was ir Abra and Vigan a few months 
prior to the writer's arrival in the Phillipines. Homes are swept from their 
foundations, fields and fruits are ruined — swept by descending, wind swept 
torrents, — and the ensuing floods move the terror-stricken native to flee that 
that life itself may be preserved, The typhoon is a frequent visitor and al- 
most every year sees some part of the archipelago devastated to a greater or 
less extent by storm. Such events bring the most abject poverty to the dis- 
tricts effected and in the absence of a pronounced disposition toward charity, 
the lack of modern means of inter-communication and the common poverty 
that prevails there is often much suffering and discouragement. 

To the traveler in the Phillipines no scene is more familiar than the cock- 
pit and the extent to which this unfortunate pastime consumes the public 
mind is shown by the prevalence of fighting cocks everywhere and the devot- 
ed attentions paid to them by their keepers. In the evening hours the Filli- 
pino may be seen fondly stroking the neck of his favorite bird, directing a 
sparring match with his enthusiastic neighbor, —dreaming dreams of conquest 
at the pit. 

Cock fighting was introduced by the Spaniards long ago and aside from fur- 
nishing the native intense excitement has also been the means of promoting a 
deplorable state of gambling and the native weakness in this line has made 
the game a curse from every conceivable viewpoint. The large pits, especial- 
ly those in the vicinity of Manila, make Sunday the gala day and the surging 
throngs which assemble there, the prevalence of gambling and the unholy 
spirit which prevails is demoralizing to say the least. 



rnXD OF THE MOmOL-Phillipine Islands 61 

The roosters are armed with a wicked looking blade attached to the leg 
near the foot and are so trained that the weapon is used with deadly effect. 
All fights are "to the finish" and the loser and his friends lose the bird as well 
as "their all" which was bet on the contest. The Spanish evidently found the 
bull fights of their own country impracticeable because of the absence of such 
animals in the islands and introduced the next most degrading and demoraliz- 
ing sport of which even degenerate man could conceive. 

As we turn from the consideration of this unpleasant thing there is relief in 
the thought that after all the people are awakening to a fuller realization of 
their opportunities and the advisability of discouraging the sport which is 
contaminating the lives of so many of their own, The cockpit may not go in 
this generation or the next but its influence is waning and will continue to do 
so in the years to come. 

A close analysis of the Pillipino character reveals the fact that there is 
much to admire and much upon which to build a substantial, (not necessarily 
thrifty), civilization, There is that sensibility, we might say sensitiveness, 
peculiar to tropic people of all countries and a consuming desire for indepen- 
dence. Perhaps no people in the world's history have sought more persistent- 
ly in so many generations for those human rights which appeal to all men 
and today, after many decades of revolution and unrest they look forward still 
to that freedom as a sacrifice for which Jose Eizal gave up his life and which 
they hope yet to attain. They are proud, anxious to learn, quick to borrow 
and to adopt new ideas and in features and general appearance are far above 
the average Oriental. They are gifted to a remarkable degree along artistic 
lines where they have been given an opportunity to develope these talents and 
produce free hand drawings of great merit, as well as writing with unusual 
legibility. 



PART II 

Observations and Deductions 



L:^KB OF THE MOKaOL-PMllmne Islands 63 



CHAPTER XVII 
PROBLEMS IN GOVERNMENT 

In the course of the preceding chapters the writer has criticized American 
government in the Phillipines and has said that conditions prevailed which 
were not only undemocratic hut unjust. In arriving at this conclusion he has 
endeavored to take an unprejudiced view of the field, keeping in mind the in- 
terests of the Fillipinos themselves, who are the possessors of the soil and for 
whom our efforts are supposedly heing put forth. He does not pretend to he 
a statesman nor does he claim any infallible solution for the problems in hand 
but he does know that unfavorable symptoms exist in the body politic and 
and that the course of affairs as they exist today can have but one inevitable 
ending. 

If it is our aim to make of the Phillipines an American colony of influence 
and wealth, — a field for lucrative investment and profitable speculation, — it is 
in our power to do so by framing our course accordingly and installing a sys- 
tem of practical peonage. But in pursuing this course we must necessarily 
relegate the native interests to the background — disregarding those inherent 
human rights which we believe even primitive people possess in their own 
realm, — those inherent rights which constitute the very basis of our republi- 
can government, — for the interests of the masses are not harmonious with the 
interests of the exploiting, seizing, lobbying capitalist by whom such develop- 
ment is accomplished. From a theoretical viewpoint duty calls us to father a 
government in the Phillipines which will enable the Fillipinos themselves to 
assume the reigns of government in due time unhampered and unrestrained, — 
but can we do it? 

The writer does not doubt for an instant the well meaning of our people 
here at home, but he is convinced that forces are at work in the islands which 
hold no good for Fillipino independence, and he knows that these are not idle 
fears. That our American government has done much to develope latent re- 
sources and to improve conditions, sanitary and oiherwis^, cannot be denied, 
but our control has admitted, and fostered to a large extent, American capital 
which, while producing increased revenues, have laid the foundation for cor- 
porate domination and control, and the extent to which American speculators 
have seized upon and gained control of vast holdings has already become a 
menace to the native interests. These sugar, tobacco and hemp plantations 
employ native labor, to be sure, but the wages are as low as the owner can 
make them and the treatment is not conducive to a healthy opinion of Amer- 
icans generally. This is but one of the unfavorable symptoms but it is suffi- 
cient in itself to justify doubt and fear in the native breast. Whatever course 
the government may take the germ has been planted and will continue to 
thrive and to humble the peasantry of the soil. This has been the history of 
Cuba, of Hawaii, Porco Rico, India, The Straits and others we might name and, 
far from being the least among the objectionable points, is the political cor- 
ruption instituted by greedy capital in its demand for favorable legislation. 



64^ mMD OF THE MOmOL-PMlUpine Islands 

In Cuba 90 per cent of all land is owned or controlled by foreign capital and 
the recent rebellion, it has been ascertained, was the direct result of a deter- 
mined effort by these non-residents to retain their hold upon affairs of state. 
In Hawaii the descendants of early missionaries obtained control of vast land 
areas and became the wealthy sugar barons of today. With their leadership 
American influence grew and with the cooperation of a very few native Haw- 
aiians we were persuaded a few years ago that annexation was desired. They 
were annexed and today the Kanakans, (native Hawaiians), are the "Poor Lo" 
of their native land and, like the American Indian, have been relegated to the 
discard. Much more could be said in explanation but space will not permit. 

The foregoing problem suggests the propriety of entering into and assum- 
ing control of lands held by those who may lack the enterprise and industry 
to develope them to the fullest extent, and more particularly our right to do 
so in the Philiipines. After mature reflection the writer is persuaded that the 
people on the other side of the Pacific have an inherent right to the land of 
their inheritance; that the proficiency they display in agricultural and me- 
chanical developement is their own business, not ours and that a wanton seiz- 
ure of these lands or any part of them on such grounds is unjust and un-Amer- 
ican. As an enlightened Christian nation ours is a mission of service and help 
to those less fortunate and certainly not one of avarice and usurpation. 

As we have said previously, the mass of Fillipinos fear American intentions 
and in this sense are very much displeased with American occupation. We 
have thought often that if the sorely tried native could but know the friendly 
feeling and the earnest intention of the average American voter to grant in- 
dependence at the earliest date consistent it would relieve much of the ten- 
sion in Insular affairs. As it is he sees the other side and hatred is thrust up- 
on him. He is not only criticised, he is abused; his subservif^ncy to American 
government is flaunted in his face, and no pains are spared to humble his 
pride and to impress upon him his inferiority to the "enlightened" Americano. 
He is told brazonly that he is far from being capable of self government and 
by some that his people will never be qualified to exercise this privilege. Dur- 
ing the writer's residence in Manila a bill was introduced in the American 
Congress at Washington providing for independence in the islands after fif- 
teen years. When the news reached Manila the two daily papers announced 
the fact in glaring headlines and in fiery editorials cast their defiance at the 
whole proposition. With ungloved hands they read the weakness of the Filli- 
pino people and said boldly that it was not in the people and never would be 
to govern themselves, and as we read we seemed to see the phantom ghost of 
the sugar trust smile at the infamy of its strategy. The next day these flam- 
ing editorial were reproduced in the El Renacimiento a paper published in 
Spanish and having a wide circulation among the natives. Feeling ran high. 

Such incidents as these inflame the native passion and it should occasion no 
surprise if the native accepted the attitude of Americans whom he knows as 
representing the sentiment of all. and thus mistrust even the better motives 
of some. Less than a century and a half ago certain British redcoats made 
sport of the patriots at Boston, laughed at their persecutions and ridiculed the 
suggestion that they were capable of self-government. These jests spilled the 



L:^KD OF TEE MOmOL-PhiUipine Islands 65 

first patriotic blood, but a few of these doubters survived long enough to per- 
ceive that the colonists possessed administrative powers of which they had 
not dreamed. 

Since the occupation of the Phillipines in 1898 Catholicism has figured prom- 
inently in legislative affairs and today, after fourteen years of American ad-^ 
ministration, the influence is not pleasant to contemplate. In explanation it 
should be said that three hundred years of Spanish rule, during which time 
the church was given absolute protection and unreasonable powers, has steep- 
ed the islands in a degenerate form of the Catholic faith, enabling the wily 
monks to command a power that is hard to loose. The independent thinking 
American would revolt at the thought of distinguished American statesmen 
bowing hypocritically before the Catholic image at Anti Polo, diplomatically 
seeking to command the cooperation and support of the Catholic wing, but 
this has been done, and by Americans who are claiming and demanding today 
favors at the public crib, — men who pretend to possess character of that sort 
which fits them to command respect and support from an enlightened public 
opinion. In the Phillipines they will tell you that without Catholic support 
you can do nothing and that the government must first put itself right through 
its officials with prevailing Catholic sentiment. In order to do this concessions 
have been made to the monks, stiff-necked officials have bowed their knees at 
Anti Polo, anti-Protestant demonstrations have been tolerated in many of.the 
barrios, and as an additional peace offering American teachers have been de- 
nied the privilege of expressing any religious preferences, even on the Sab- 
bath day, aud bibles have been barred from the schools. Instances have been 
recorded where teachers have been reprimanded and even transferred to an- 
other post for the grave offense of teaching a class in a Protestant Sunday 
School on the Sabbath Day. Without discussing the propriety of this course 
we drop the matter where it is, allowing the reader to judge for himself the 
question in hand. Catholicism is one of the big problems in the government 
of the Phillipines and will be a big factor for generations to come. But all is 
not bad, and when all else is said we must credit Uncle Sam with throwing 
down the barriers and admitted Protestant missionaries to a field that has al- 
ways been closed to them, and in which they have achieved remarkable suc- 
cess in spite of bitter and unfair Catholic opposition. 

No other nation has grown so remarkably and achieved so much as has 
America in the brief years of her existence, and no other nation, perhaps, is 
so capable of administering an ideal colonial government in the Phillipines 
or elsewhere as our own, but these capabilities do not insure us that the con- 
duct of our individual citizens abroad is above reproach, and indeed, if it were 
so these lines would never have been written. Deep rooted pride in American 
institutions too often blinds us to results unworthy of our approbation and 
this is especially true in our Insular possessions, where the seat of government 
is by many thousand miles removed from the watchfulness of the homeland 
and where affairs of state are run with a freehand and too often a high hand. 
Human nature is largely the same the world over and it is not unreasonable to 
believe that many of our apnointees to the Phillipines, 10,000 miles from the 



66 mXD OF TEE MOJ^'GOL-PMlUpine Islands 

source of power and unrestrained, should develope a freedom and take liber- 
ties which would be impossible under the critical eyes of our citizens here at 
home. That they do this is evident to the close observer, and the unfamiliar- 
ity of the natives with governmental matters and their comparative ignorance 
allows the unscrupulous official a wide latitude for his operations. Our read- 
ers understand that in our own country, with the enlightenment of our people 
and their careful selection of public officials, as well as vigilance in observing 
his conduct in office, graft is not uncommon and in some instances most appall- 
ing. With these thoughts in mind it is not difficult to understand that the of- 
ficial in the Phillipines who is not responsible to his subjects for his office or 
his tenure in office, who by reason of his arbitrary powers and privileges is 
comparatively unrestrained, who sees about him a field rich for exploitation 
and at whose feet grasping corporations intercede for privilege should be sub- 
jected to unusual temptations and it should occasion no surprise if many fell, 
— and many do. We are glad to say that many excellent men and women are 
in the government employ in the islands, but it is distressing to contemplate 
the number who go astray, and who by their conduct breed contempt in the 
native breast, As a nation we are hardly responsible for the misbehavior of 
our reckless citizens upon the outlying frontiers, but by them we are often 
judged, and wrongly at that. 

We recite these criticisms here, not in a spirit of bitterness toward men or 
means and not at all in criticism of American intentions, but merely "that the 
people may know," and understand some of the things that are seldom heard 
outside of the Phillipines themselves, believing that in doing so we are rend- 
ering a public service. Territorial and colonial governments offer many deli- 
cate and complex problems for solution, and these are some of them. 



mKD OF THE MOXGOL-PMlUpine Islands 67 



CHAPTER XVIII 
AUEN CONTACT 

What we said of the Phillipines suggests appropriatelythe discussion of con- 
ditions in the Far East which should be familiar to our readers. 

For the last quarter of a century the eyes of the whole world have been turn- 
ed toward the eastern front of Asia and the remarkable awakening upon those 
shores has brought wonder and amazement to all thinking men. With the 
first signs of the awakening there was activity among the nations of the world 
and drastic efforts to ob ain preferred business relations with the newly born 
traflfie centers of the East. Trading companies were founded and operations 
extended to the most interior points; mining concessions were secured and 
others seized upon by individuals and corporations; railroads were financed, 
coast traflSc systemized and other measures taken to commercialize the Far 
East. Japan, shrewdly and wisely, practically forbade foreign ownership or 
acquisition of land or trade advantages, and early in the game the United 
States became mistress of the Phillipines. China, with her vast unexplored 
and unutilized resources, alone remained inactive and became the wrestling 
ground upon which greedy corporations sruggled for advantage. 

The occupation of China by the commercial interests of the world has bro't. 
about a condition in industrial and national life which only those who have 
seen can understand. Foreign posts and trading centers have been establish- 
ed at advantageous points along the coasts, navigateable streams and railways 
while the more daring emisaries of trade have flung restraint to the wind and 
penetrated to the remote interior of the provinces. Railways under construc- 
tion and mining enterprises in process of developement employ foreign fore- 
men, and the thousands of Chinese laborers under their direction complete the 
organization. Trading concerns also utilize native labor as do coast and in- 
land traffic, — the Standard Oil Co., alone, demanding the services of a small 
army of men who, under the direction of "Yankee" agents, distribute the 
products of the company to the innermost jungles and fastnesses. Thus it 
will be seen that thousands of aliens, hailing from the four corners of the 
globe, infest the shores of Asia and the results growing out of their presence 
are many fold. 

The unsuspecting reader would conclude at first thought that this offered an 
invaluable school for the sons of China in the ways and means of modern civi- 
lization, and we presume it is so regarded by the rank and file. They bring to 
the Chinese much in the way of modern commercial methods, it is true, but 
they bring with them so much that is bad, and contaminating to say the least, 
that their presence is a menace to the future of the republic. 

As we read these lines, endeavoring to comprehend the influence of the trad- 
er, we should not forget that our American Indian was victimized by the same 
men, and through the liquor vender and the grafter in lands, he learned to 
doubt the best of men and despise their religion and their faith. We need 
hardly remind our readers that the greed of a powerful British trading com- 
pany for gain fastened upon the Chinese Empire the monster opium curse and, 



68 MJ{D OF THE MOmOL-PMllipine Islands 

blind to the havoc it wrought, succeeded for many years in defeating eyery 
measure calculated to banish the drug, and in the face of determined Christian 
and humane opposition, fought every step. American missions in time suc- 
ceeded in awakening world-wide interest in the curse and the Anti-Cpium 
Congress at Shanghai in 1909 was the result, But America's commendable act 
in this humane work, and the prestage it gave us among the Christian world 
are discredited by the statistics for the same year, which show that 1842,233 
worth of American-made cigarettes were unloaded upon China and tobacco in 
all forms to the value of $894,502. From our own country and from the 
nations of Europe distilled and spirituous liquor flow in and revenues pour 
out, while the susceptable Chinaman is acquiring a state of body and mind 
impregnable to the Christian service which the missionary would gladly be- 
stow. During the same period distilled and spirituous liquors to the value of 
$555,191 were imported into the Phiilipine Islands, 1317,991 being shipped from 
the United States. Rev. Ray Torrey, a missionary of Hochow, China, said re- 
cently in an address, "Unless the United States stops the shipment of cigar- 
ettes and liquor into China, China will stop it at the point of the sword." He 
said that millions of cigarettes had been issued free to Chinese in Hochow by 
American tobacco dealers in order to start a traffic and that Chinese, enraged 
over the sight of 4-year-old Chinese boys smoking cigarettes, were planning to 
stop it. 

The awakening Oriental lifts himself drowsily from bis couch of ignorance 
and superstition and beneath the lifting sbadows about him beholds the light 
and the life of the Christian world, while opportunity raps gently at his door. 
He grasps feebly at the thread of hope but 'ere phan'om buoyancy has assum- 
ed concrete form he discerns those same natins of hope pouring out upon 
his shores an array of men who devastate his fields, seize upon his wealth, 
make his people drunken and laugh the laugh of scorn at the emisaries of the 
church who teach of better things. They live boisterously, defy the moral pre- 
cepts of all men, swerve the reigns of government by strategy and mortgage 
the soul of his country, Once again he beholds the lights of the nations, but 
much of their brilliancy has gone out. In his untutored mind he sees them 
praising and cursing, serving and blighting, hoping and doubting, and his 
amazement grows. But he has been wronged, and in the anguish of his soul 
he cries aloud, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" The vision has 
passed and he beholds only the cruel world he has seen in his dream, — heart- 
less hordes bartering the hopes of his countrymen and the intensity of his su- 
perstition blinds him to the good in any man. His heart has been hardened 
and his doubts multiplied and he fears to trust even the humble "Samaritan" 
at his dour. 

In a figurative way we have expressed our views of alien contact as we saw 
it to exist in China in its relation to the Christian cause and ask of our readers 
a careful and prayerful consideration. All men operating in China are not 
bad but the reckless, godless adventurers are overwhelmingly in the majority 
and embarass missionary operations when opportunity affords. The picture 
is not greatly overdrawn and illustrates the distrust and fears which this con- 
tact is inciting in some native breast every day. The cause of the church is 
not dead and is doing a noble work but the handicap imposed by the manipu- 



rnXD OF THE MOXGOL-PMlUpine Islands 69 

lations is beyond the power of man to estimate. 

Such a condition is lamentable to contemplate, but those who are conver- 
sant with public affairs in the ancient empire will understand. For many 
years the influence of the "powers" has been imminent behind the throne and 
no avenue capable of producing- financial returns has been ignored by the 
aggressive coporations operating there. Many heavy national loans, foreign 
capitalized and controlled railways, heavily financed foreign mining opera- 
tions and other concessions have virtually mortgaged China body and soul and 
will make her subservient to the "powers" for years to come if they do not 
forever tie her hands, 

The writer understands that he may easily be misunderstood in this connec- 
tion, and that the decided attitude he has assumed in opposition to financial 
investments in China and the Phillipines may be interpreted as the views of a 
"crank." He is not a fatalist, an anarchist or a socialist, but he believes we 
in our own enlightened land, with our facilities for regulating organized 
wealth, have a monster problem on our hands, and he believes further that in 
the unrestrained fields of which he speaks these and other corporations, guid- 
ed solely by selfish greed, will wax rich upon the land and yield no good to 
the people from whom this revenue is exacted. 



70 mXB OF TEE MOXGOL-PMllipine Islands 

CHAPTER XIX 
THE GOSPEL INVASION OF THE FAR EAST 

After inspecting at some length the conditions existing in Japan, China and 
the Phillipmes I was impressed with the fertility of the field for missionary 
effort, as well as the predominating influence exerted by the Protestant 
churches of America in the Gospel invasion. Weeks before it had been my 
pleasure to step upon Oriental shores I began to realize that the problem of 
Asia's uplift was one of no mean proportions and one deserving of more earn- 
nest and prayerful consideration than is usually accorded it. 

A few days spent in San Francisco, during which time I was brought in con- 
tact with many God-loving and God serving Koreans, Chinese and Japanese, 
suflSced to convince me that the Gospel to the heathen is not in vain while two 
weeks and a half spent upon an ocean liner between San Francisco and Yoko- 
hama with more than four hundred Crientals aboard confirmed this belief and 
the added knowledge thus gained aroused a vivid and more acute interest in a 
cause which holds so much in the East's awakening. 

For the last quarter of a century Asia has been in transition. From tne 
depths of superstitioQ and lethargy there has come an unrest and, in the wake 
of the unrest there has come a new light. Misguided souls have seen, even 
within the radius of their own limited visions, a new order of things which 
promises manifold blessings to those who embrace them. Affairs of State and 
of the Church, of Society and the Home, have been alike involved and emerge 
from the conflict renewed and revived and prepared for more abundant and 
useful service. In it all the Church has been a force, a mighty factor, which 
builds the most substantial and enduring structure of which civilization can 
boast, — nations are not greater than the individual citizens who compose them 
and if those citizens know not the Livicg Truth the nations cannot long sur- 
vive. Western civilization is what it is today only through the grace of God, 
and if the East hopes to attain to any recognized standard of civic or moral 
worth she must put on the armour of £aith and, with her shoulder to the 
Cross, march consistently onward. 

A mighty awakening is transforming the shores of a great continent and 
more than eight hundred millions of people are involved. The pace is on, and 
whether we accept the full measure of our responsibility or not, we cannot 
check the tide which the new era has ushered in. The march of progress will 
go forward, with or without God, according as we have rendered our full 
measure of responsibility toward them. The forces of the underworld are 
there, organized and active, and the utmost vigilance and effort is demanded 
of us if we are to thwart their evil designs. The crisis in the East's awaken- 
ing is at hand. If we are to bring to those people an intelligent conception 
of the living God before unprincipled traders have put them beyond the reach 
of help we must do it now. Japan has, in our own generation, emerged from 
obscurity and assumed the rank of a world power; the hosts of China, 400,000- 
000 strong, have seen the light and in the sunset of our own day will stand up- 
on the horizon clothed in new linen and with the scepter of power at their 



mKB OF THE MOmOL-FUillmm Islands 71 

own right hand. 

It is needless to suggest the potency of Oriental thought upon the Eastern 
world when these millions shall have been aroused to a full measure of their 
possibilities and in that day it will be a blessing or a curse, according as they 
have learned to know and to understand the Divine leading and guidance of 
the living God. Eight hundred millions of peopls, divinely lead and mastered, 
could be a blessing of inestimable worth or, unrestrained and possessed of 
evil, a menace to the Truth and a force for destruction which the world has 
never seen. At such a time the "Yellow Peril" might be realized and the very 
supremacy of Christ upon earth threatened at the gates. It is ours by Divine 
command to teach "the Word to every living creature," but more than this we 
owe it to the East and to ourselves to tell them of the Truth at this momen- 
tuous day when "the harvest is ripe" and they, "shaken as a reed by the wind" 
falter between the hosts of Satan and of God, 

I have observed the rites in the temples of Buddha. I have seen worship- 
ers at the shrines, priests under varying circumstances and conditions and 
temples in widely differing fields. I have seen groups of men and of women 
bowing and kneeling and mumbling incoherently before a graven image of 
Buddha, but through it all I was persuaded that the spirit was gone and that 
the skeleton, only, of the faith remained. Throughout the length and breadth 
of China and Japan temples to heathen gods are the most numerous things, 
but their splendor has gone and the structures themselves often in the last stag- 
es of decay. The devotion which conceived and sacrificed that these temples 
might be built is strangely abs-^nt and we see lit le or no disposition to repair 
them. More than this, many have been robbed of their rich adornments and 
present today but a symbol of a dying faith. Buddhist and Shinto temples at 
Nagoya, Kamakura, Nikko and Kyoto have been maintained in some degree 
of splendor, but primarily as an attraction for tourists, and there is little in 
their environments to suggest that the faith is real. 

But into this darkness there has come a new light, and its coming has not 
been in vain. I would not be quoted as saying that any extraordinary revival 
was in progress in China or Japan, for there is none, but a great work is go- 
ing forward systematically, and gratifying results are being obtained. From 
the most remote and unfavored fields come glowing reports, and everywhere 
an assurance of increasing interest and devotion for the things of God. Mis- 
sion schools have been established, hospitals founded, publishing houses set 
up and with the services of more than five thousand missionaries representing 
all denominations working harmonious and effectively, with their limited 
means, a great work has been begun. 

There is no more interesting or fertile field in all the East than the Phillipin- 
es. Buddhism is their among the Chinese and Mohammedism among the Moros, 
but these pale to insignificence before an unspeakably corrupt Catholicism 
which has fostered and grown since the days of Legaspi, almost four hundred 
years ago. Not until 1908 did Protestant missionaries have access to this field 
but in the brief period since then they have met with remarkable success. 
While the monks have misguided and mistaught, they have inculcated in the 
native mind a basic knowledge of Christian truth, and upon this it is not diffi- 



72 mXD OF TEE MOXaOL-Phillipine Islands 

cult to build. The many dialects, which the monks found to be unintelligible, 
have been reduced to grammatical form and by the use of common Spari&h 
type our Scriptures and our hymns may be converted into the native tongues. 
The Methodist Publishing House in Manila, of which the writer was superin- 
tendent, supplied this and other literature in seven languages and dialects, 
and the result was apparent, for to reach these people with English, Spanish, 
Tagalog, Illocano, Pampanga, Pangassinan and Ibanag is to open to their un- 
derstanding a vast treasure-house of good things. 

I have said that the temples in China and Japan show evidences of decay. 
I should have added that the Catholic churches of the Phillipines come in the 
same category, These churches are immense structures, of soft stone, and 
have been erected at an enormous cost, to the impoverishment of the natives 
maintaining them. But they are old, weather-scarred, often moss-grown and 
rapidly crumbling away. 

To my mind this is the crucial period in the evangelization of the Far East. 
Buddhism and ancestor worship is waning in Japan, the millions in China are 
arousing from a thousand years of lethargy and are ready to set aside the non- 
progressive codes of Confucius and the unsatisfying tenets of Buddhism and 
Taoism for something more tangible. Fillipinos are restless under the yoke 
of oppressive friars and have arrived at that stage where they can judge 
sanely between degenerate Catholicism, as taught and practiced by the monks 
and the more sane and appealing call of Protestant missionaries. 

Such an hour suggests a great opportunity for the hosts of God. "The har- 
vest is ripe and the laborers are few," and "the day is passing by." Will we 
raise ourselves to the summit of our possibilities and in this meet our admitt- 
ed responsibilities? 



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